The Tigers come into this one having lost four straight games to the Hiroshima Carp. But now that the red helmets have clinched the league pennant and deactivated Brad Eldred among others, and with the Tigers actually having something to play for, perhaps this would be the team’s chance to end the season series on a positive note. Though it looked grim at first, the bats came to life in the game’s second half, and the relievers did their thing, too.
Game 133 – Thursday 9/21. Come-from-Behind Saves Nohmi’s Dignity
Starting Pitchers: Atsushi Nohmi (5-6) vs. Daichi Ohsera (9-2)
Bottom 1: You’d think Nohmi would handle the lefties and struggle against the righties. But he gave up hits to the first three lefties he faced, the third of which was a 3-run home run. Then a couple of righty batters later, he gave up a monster blast to Batista. Hanshin 0, Hiroshima 5
Top 3: Ryutaro Umeno led off with a single, got bunted into scoring position, and then Hiroki Uemoto knocked him in to get our first run of the game. The bases were actually juiced for Ohyama (0-5 on the night) before this inning ended, but then the inning ended. Hanshin 1, HIroshima 5
Top 6: Nohmi’s night was over well before the team erased the loss from his plate. He went just 4 IP, 72 TP, 6 H, 1 BB, 5 R, 1 K. Fortunately for him, the team evened the score in this inning with a barrage of singles by Kosuke Fukudome, Takashi Toritani, Yamato (RBI), Hayata Itoh (RBI), Shunsuke (RBI), and another run scoring on an error. Hanshin 5, Hiroshima 5
Top 8: Pinch hitter Taiga Egoshi patiently watched forkball after forkball go by and took his base. He advanced to third on a Shunsuke single, and then the latter moved over to second on fielder indifference (generously called a stolen base). Two runners just begging to be driven home by Uemoto. And the Hiroshima native didn’t let them down. A double down the left field line cashed them in, giving Hanshin the lead, and eventually, the win.
🐯ヨッシャー！
絶好調！上本が勝ち越し２点タイムリーです！ww😆#阪神タイガース #上本博紀 pic.twitter.com/Vkae8virqd
— ⚾️埼とら⚾️今季は怪我無く！ (@yakyuragu) September 21, 2017
Final Score: Hanshin 7, Hiroshima 5. WP: Kentaro Kuwahara (4-2). SV: Rafael Dolis (35). Team Record: 72-58-3
10 (1) 14 