September 23rd Messenger v Muranaka - As the season winds down

I don't have much to quibble about with this game - it all went very well and thankfully Messenger showed no ill effects from his over pitching of the game before. Wada of course wanted to keep Messenger in for the entire game but this time it was justified and he dominated the Swallows batters giving up just three hits - all singles. Scores

          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Swallows  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Tigers    0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 X 2 7 0

Starting Lineups

Swallows
1. Yamada (Second)
2. Ueda (Centre)
3. Kawabata (Third)
4. Balentien (Left)
5. Yuichi (First)
6. Iihara (Right)
7. Morioka (Short)
8. Nakamura (Catcher)
9. Muranaka (Pitcher)

Tigers
1. Nishioka (Second)
2. Shunsuke (Centre)
3. Murton (Left)
4. Toritani (Short)
5. Ryota Arai (First)
6. Uemoto (Third)
7. Shibata (Right)
8. Shimizu (Catcher)
9. Messenger (Pitcher)

Takahiro Arai sat out this game as well leading to speculation that he has an injury but more likely because his performance hasn't really justified a place in the team. After the run fest and excitement of the previous two games this one turned into a pitching duel. First off was Messenger dealing efficiently and effectively with the first three Swallows batters. He worked well with Shimizu and there were none of the problems which dogged the previous game. Muranaka also pitched well and Tigers couldn't get a runner on base either. The engine room of Swallows offense fell to Messenger who struck out Balentien to start Swallows second and then did the same to Yuichi. After that Iihara was never going to represent much of a challenge and he flew out to right. Tigers first hit came in their second with Ryota singling left with one out. A wild pitch took him to second but he stayed there as Muranaka dealt effectively with the next two batters. Messenger polished off the rest of the Swallows order in the third having not allowed any runners on base. Muranaka started Tigers third nicely retiring Shimizu and then Messenger. However, Nishioka singled to centre. With two out we were spared the bunt and so Shunsuke had to try and hit. He did so spectacularly hitting his first pitch into left centre. This had the makings of a double but Balentein and Ueda managed to collide as both went for the ball and by the time they had sorted themselves out it had turned into a triple with Nishioka home 1-0 Tigers. Next was Murton who singled right to bring in Shunsuke 2-0 Tigers, runner on first. Toritani walked - runners on first and second but the innings came to an end when Ryota grounded out to short.

Having taken the lead Tigers could expect a counter attack in the Swallows fourth. This turned out to be a damp squib. Yamada led the innings off with a single. Ueda flew out and then Kawabata grounded out to second which did move Yamada round to second. This time Balentien flew out to right to end the innings. Tigers having taken the lead needed to increase it but found they couldn't get the momentum to do so. With one out in Tigers fourth Shibata singled and stole second. He stayed there as Shimizu grounded out but then was able to advance to third on a wild pitch. The final batter was Messenger who struck out looking. Swallows fifth saw no base runners. Muranaka was now much more settled and he retired the Tigers batters in order in their fifth. The game was actually motoring along at quite a pace. Swallows sixth and no one reached base either. Messenger was pitching superbly and Shimizu's calls were showing great finesse and ability to read the batters. With one out in Tigers sixth Ryota singled left again but this time fell to a 4-6-3 double play courtesy of Uemoto who hit his first pitch to Yamada. Wada had seen enough of Uemoto at third and switched him for Saka - a decision which had no influence on the game one way or the other.

We had now reached Swallows seventh and still no one was reaching base. Three batters three outs. In Tigers seventh Shimizu singled with one out but stayed on first being unable to move round. At last in their eighth Swallows managed a hit and a base runner. This was Iihara who singled left with one out. Kawashima's (pinch hitter and replacement short) ground out to second only succeeded in forcing out Iihara and Hiroyasu Tanaka (pinch htter) could only ground out to second to end the innings. Muranaka was replaced for Tigers eighth by Barnette. He had had to work harder than Messenger but had put in a workmanlike performance. Barnette pitched effectively and retired the batters in order to keep Swallows hopes alive but these were slim hopes. Miyamoto (pinch hitter) led off Swallows ninth with a single right and was pinch run for by Kawasaki. Would Tigers blow it and would Messenger falter at the final hurdle. The answer was no - a nicely set up double play saw Yamada hit to third and two outs went down. Ato hitori and this proved to be Ueda who grounded out to second to end the game. Tigers victory.

With this victory Tigers secured a Climax Series place. They can still finish third but will be in the Climax Bore. Of course home advantage would be nicer and so Tigers still have work to do. Messenger had been in complete control throughout the game and it was nice to see him working well with his catcher. He now has 12 victories and this was one of his best. Only just over two and a half hours all told.