Going back to Game 1 of this series, the Hanshin Tigers hadn’t scored a run in 13 straight innings heading into this one. The Baystars took a two-run lead after three innings (which included 2 Tigers errors, plus a wild pitch). The momentum was completely in their favor. It looked like our season would be over by the end of the day. All across Japan, Tigers fans would stop watching sports on Sports Day. In Canada, torakichi would not have anything to be grateful for on Thanksgiving. In America, the Hanshin faithful would not be celebrating any new discoveries on Columbus Day… but then something happened. Our first home run of the series courtesy of Teruaki Sato. Two clutch runs in an inning that saw the manager call for bunts from the #3 and 4 hitters (neither “did their job”). And as usual, the bullpen stonewalled their hitters. But still, it came down to the bottom of the ninth, when they had a chance to tie or walk off the game. One out. Bases loaded. A 40-year-old pinch-hitter? Oh…kay… Atsuki Yuasa escaped the jam and got his second save of the series. We’re going on to Tokyo to face the Swallows, down a game already. Series starts on Wednesday. Can’t wait. Way to go, Tigers!
