Before the Japan Series started, pretty much everyone predicted a low-scoring series. However, that surely has not been the case. Starter Hiroto Saiki labored through five innings but held the Buffaloes to a single run despite 8 base runners, and the relievers allowed the tying run to cross home (they were helped by a Tigers…
It’s always a little alarming when people start talking about a perfect game before it’s half over, but Shoki Murakami was dealing. No one reached base against him through four innings, conjuring up images of his first start in 2023 against the Yomiuri Giants (April 12, 7 perfect innings). The perfect game vanished against the…
The Tigers had a long layoff from competitive baseball, having most recently played on October 4. That said, they clinched the CL pennant on September 14, so one could argue that it had been 5 weeks since their last important game. Despite just one hit in the game’s first three innings, they did put good…
From these scores, it should be clear to all that Meiji Jingu Stadium is a hitters’ park, and that Vantelin Dome Nagoya is a pitchers’ park. It is also true that the Dragons actually have a pretty good pitching staff, while the Swallows, at least on that day, did not. OK, it’s not just that…
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)…
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…
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. I hear that Tuesday’s game was…
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. SWEEEEEEEEP!
The way the Hanshin Tigers played this weekend, you would have never guessed they were riding a 13-game losing streak (regular season games only) at Yokohama Stadium. The same is true of the Baystars, whose defense was atrocious through two games. In any case, the team’s bats came to life and the starting pitching was…
The Dragons had been struggling, and the Tigers were coming off a good Ultra Summer week at Koshien. But none of that matters when the venue is Vantelin Dome in Nagoya. The Tigers almost never perform well in this town, but needed to take two of three in this series to keep their good stretch…