Every loss stings a little. And with the season winding down and the pennant already decided, the only thing left was to see if the Tigers could sweep this one and keep the Grim Reaper waiting around a little while longer. The pounding on the door was in fact the angel of death. Game 134…
A three-game sweep at the hands of the then-fifth place Swallows pushed the Tigers down a spot in the standings, and the dream of reaching the playoffs seemed less likely to come true. A two-game stint in Nagoya with the team’s two best pitchers slated to start should have been the remedy to the team’s…
The Tigers have a combined 4-16 record against the Hiroshima Carp and Yomiuri Giants since the start of July. On the flip side, they have a 14-6 record against the rest of the league since July 1st. For now, they can focus on the rest of the league, as they only have 8 more games total…
There’s no moving up in the standings too far if you can’t beat the teams at the top. After a humiliating two-game mini-series against the CL-leading Carp, the Tigers looked to redeem themselves against the second place Yomiuri Giants on the weekend. Redemption, minimal as it was, didn’t come until the last inning of play on…
After last week’s sweep at the hands of the Giants, the club was on a 7-game home losing streak, with its last Koshien win coming June 28 against the BayStars. A six-pack at home against the other lower teams in the Central would be a chance for the Tigers to show their mettle. Summer break was…
The Tigers combined to win two of nine (one vs. Lions, none @ Marines and one @ Fighters) against quality Pacific League opponents. Their two wins against the then-last place Eagles was barely acceptable, and the same result against the now-last place Buffaloes would also be the bare minimum, though a sweep would definitely be preferred,…
We take two steps forward and one step back. One step forward and then two back. The Hanshin Tigers have been within a game of .500 since May 11 – an incredible stretch in which there has been no winning or losing streak longer than two games. After nine games on the road, the team came…
The series at Jingu left a sour taste in the mouths of Hanshin fans, and facing the Yomiuri Giants in Tokyo – where the Tigers won just 2 of 13 in 2015 – had the potential of either lifting our spirits or dashing our hopes heading into interleague play. As it turns out, it was…
There seem to be no favorites this year – except the BayStars. There seem to be no weaknesses this year – except the power hitting and the bullpen. There seems to be no preference between home and away games – except that our record at Koshien so far is a pedestrian 10-12-1. So as the…
Sunday’s loss tie left a bitter taste in the mouths of Hanshin fans. After all, a solid outing by Atsushi Nohmi was wasted in large part to poor fielding and uninspired hitting down the stretch. Coming home for six straight, the Tigers needed to win back their fans and bring their record at Koshien back…