They wanted a sweep. They needed a sweep. They didn’t get it. The basement-dwelling Yakult Swallows pulled off a come-from-behind win in the second game, 5-3. Starter Minoru Iwata looked to have this one under control, but with a one-run lead in the sixth, he gave up a hit to leadoff hitter Kawabata, then served…
When it rains, it pours. Even when the weather is nice, as it was all week, it still felt rather gloomy at Koshien. The Tigers got swept by the Giants at home for the first time since 1999. The slump has been well documented, including my own analysis (click here), so I will not talk…
This was a week to be forgotten, particularly this past series against the Dragons. The men in black put a measly 2 runs up in three games, and never held a lead the whole 27 innings. Without going into too much detail, the hitters could not do anything right when runners were on base. Hitting…
The Tigers completed their annual 3-week long road trip on Thursday in Tokyo. As I was away from Japan for most of it, I will simply post all the scores here without commenting on the action. For the record, they went 6-9 on their road trips, winning just one of their 5 series, and 5-1 at…
Another week, another .500 record. After wasting a chance to gain ground by losing 2 of 3 to the Swallows last week, the Tigers repeated the feat again this week. They then took the first two against the Carp in convincing fashion, but fell way short in the series finale. You would have thought this…
It seems like some weeks the Tigers get you excited for the playoffs, while others make you wonder if they even deserve to make it. This week had a little of both. Not terribly surprising when you go 2-2, winning in exciting fashion twice and losing badly to inferior opponents twice. This was supposed to…
Heading into the All-Star Break, the Tigers were the hottest team in Japanese baseball. They took 11 of their 13 matches in the first half of July. Waiting for them out of the gates for the second half were key matchups against the Giants at home and the Carp on the road. Let’s look at…
This week was a short one because of the all-star break. The Tigers had just one 3-game series on the road against the Chunichi Dragons. It wasn’t long ago that they got humiliated by this very team and lost their tenuous hold on third place, falling out of the playoff picture for the first time…
While last week’s 5-0 record was impressive (and much needed), this week would be a true test of the Tigers’ mettle. Beating up on the lowly Swallows and Baystars was one thing, but going up against the two teams ahead of them in the standings would prove to be a lot harder. Or would it?…
It seems like only the rain could stop the Tigers from going a perfect 6-0 this week. Thursday’s rain-out meant the men in black, gold and white only played 5 games this week. They needed to take advantage of their weaker schedule, and did they ever make the most of it! Their perfect week gave…