Thursday night, the Hanshin Tigers clinched their first Central League pennant since 2005, and just the sixth in club history. From what I observed on TV and in the newspapers, they were up quite late into the night (as they deserved to fully celebrate their accomplishment). They then had to travel to Hiroshima very fatigued…
History was made at Hanshin Koshien Stadium last night, September 14. The Tigers had a magic number of 1, and were riding a 10-game winning streak. Their perfect September was on the line, and an 11-game streak had not been achieved in 41 seasons. Nevertheless, the team put aside some early-inning jitters (see recap below)…
For the first time in club history, the Hanshin Tigers have put together two 10-game winning streaks in a single season. The team is still undefeated in September, and now needs a win (OR a Hiroshima loss) to clinch the Central League pennant tomorrow night at Koshien Stadium against the Giants. There will be no…
It has been far from an ideal season for Yuki Nishi. Once the staff ace, he is now the “old man” (despite being two months shy of 33, only one player on the team is longer in the tooth, and only by 6 months). He got farmed for the first time as a Tiger (in…
Yes, it’s an iconic song by Europe… but it’s also the feeling that all Hanshin Tigers have now that the team’s magic number is down to 5. Not even the biggest choke job or the fiercest charge (or the combination of the two) can stop this team from winning its first pennant in 18 years….
Say goodbye to the September swoons of our team’s past! This team is a perfect 8-0 this month after completely controlling the action at Koshien Stadium against the second-place Carp! The three starting pitchers – Shoki Murakami / Koutaro Ohtake / Masashi Itoh – combined to throw 22 innings of three-run ball (two earned), walking…
If you have read any of my series recaps over the past 8 years, you know what I’m going to say. I’m a broken record when it comes to this because it’s such a solid fact: the Hanshin Tigers do not score many runs or win many games in Nagoya at the Dome. Well after…
Ironic, isn’t it, that the first full series that I was able to watch after being away from Japan most of August wasn’t even on network TV! Nevertheless, the Tigers were able to take advantage of a weakened Swallows lineup. On Friday, rookie Shota Morishita hit two bombs at a stadium he played in often…
After one of the most successful August road trips ever (at least I presume that 18-5 is good), the Tigers were welcomed home at Koshien Stadium by excited fans, by kids who were hoping to witness a win before returning to school, by a new cheer song for Shota Morishita. But they got beaten fair…
Note: I did not watch these games and am doing this recap (along with the rest of the August scorecards) retrospectively for the purpose of having them on record. Enjoy the scorecards for what they are worth, but I do not have anything insightful to say about this series. However, with the two wins in…