Ho hum

We had a short two game series at Koshien (who dreamed that one up I wonder?) with the Giants. The first game was rained out so it turned into a 1 game series. Currently Giants lead the series with the Tigers and this did nothing to change that.
Messenger started the game and was in trouble straight away giving up a solo home run to the repulsive Sakamoto 1-0. He managed to hold the Giants off until the top of the third when they jumped on him again and Garret Jones and Wakiya both drove in runners 3-0 Giants. It was a comfortable lead and the Giants pitcher, Taguchi, took full advantage of it holding the Tigers scoreless until the seventh. Here he loaded the bases and then walked in a run 3-1 Giants and was replaced. Tigers didn't add to their score though. What was puzzling was that Messenger pitched an eighth innings. Yes he is a workhorse I know but really it was an exercise in pointlessness. You use the relief to save your starters arms not the other way round. Kanemoto and co are still on the learning curve. Giants won the game which pushed Tigers into fifth in the standings but in a very tight league this is not so worrying. Incidentally, Haraguchi batted five and managed to work the oshidashi run in the seventh. Next is BayStars at Yokohama.