There’s something about playing at Nagoya Dome that causes these Hanshin Tigers to struggle, especially offensively. Sure, we could give some credit to the Chunichi Dragons, but there also might be something to the hex that has been placed on this team for the past 23 years since the Dome opened. Ignore the perfect 3-0 record we had here before today’s game – games here are seldom smooth sailing!
Starting Pitchers: Taiki Ono (3-1, 3.50 ERA) vs. Onelki Garcia (4-1, 1.79 ERA)
1
A couple of walks to start the game led to our scoring a run without even recording a single hit. Shunsuke scored on Wilin Rosario‘s ground out to second. Still, a lead’s a lead.
Tigers 1, Dragons 0
6
Ono was cruising in this one until this inning. And the wheels fell off pretty quickly. A couple of hits put runners on the corners without any outs. An out later, with two runners in scoring position, the next two batters (Viciedo and Moya) each took the first pitches they saw for rides into the outfield, and the lead was gone. Ono would go one more inning to finish with a 7 IP, 108 TP, 7 H, 3 BB, 3 K, 3 R.
Tigers 1, Dragons 3
9
Rosario blooped a ball into shallow center, and the ensuing booting of the ball allowed him to reach second base. Two ground outs later, he crossed home plate. But that was all we got.