First of all, starter Minoru Iwata had to have been beside himself all night. The veteran pitcher has not received much run support in his starts over the years. Two or fewer runs per start has been the norm. That, combined with his struggles to get through five innings, had him winless in nearly two full seasons.
Hanshin had a treat in store for their most recent farm call-up, and even more for the fans sitting (standing?) in the left field stands. We start in the first inning when…
Yusuke Ohyama hit his second home run in as many games, breaking a scoreless tie for the second straight night.
Two innings later… (note: this is not the same video!)
Later that same inning, Masahiro Nakatani knocked in a run on a single to left. That was just his warm-up act. Because this:
And this:
Ohyama nearly hit a third bomb but settled for a double off the wall. Later he smoked one into the left field stands but it looped foul. Kid was unstoppable – kind of reminiscent of his killer September last year.
Speaking of kids, rookie Koji Chikamoto wanted to stay in the hunt for most homers on the team this year. His clouted his third on the campaign as well:
And how did Iwata handle all this run production? He merely struck out four times and bunted once. Yes, when your pitcher stands in the batter’s box five times in a night, it can only mean one thing: complete game, baby!
Final Score: Hanshin 13, Yakult 5
They hit a couple of bombs, too, and posted two garbage-time runs when they were down to their last out.
And just for fun, another from the farm earlier in the day. Naomasa Yohkawa ties the game up. Turn the sound on and enjoy an up-and-coming announcer who tries to stretch out his commentary as Yohkawa circles the bases.