I wouldn’t say the Tigers won this game so much as they didn’t lose it. They did very little to put points on the board, and played sloppy enough defense to put the win in jeopardy, but in the end, it was the Dragons, and that in itself was enough to get our boys the…
The Tigers got some extra rest thanks to yesterday’s rainout, and they showed a lot of rust in the field and at the plate for much of the game. But when it rained, it poured, and one big inning was enough to counterbalance all the mistakes made by the fielders. Starting Pitchers: Randy Messenger (2-1,…
It took until the ninth inning for the Tigers to get on the scoreboard, and they got good pitching from their birthday boy starter, but ultimately they fell in extras. Starting Pitchers: Shintaro Fujinami (0-0, 5.59 ERA) vs. David Buchanan (2-0, 0.56 ERA) 2 Three straight singles gave the Swallows a quick lead. It took…
Last year when the Tigers brought in a rookie to face the Hiroshima Carp, it went REALLY badly. For the rookie, that is. The team covered his butt in the end. But this rookie wanted no part of those dramatics, and put on an incredible performance in his pro debut. Starting Pitchers: Haruto Takahashi (0-0)…
The Tigers were gifted ten free passes, and a crucial error by the usually-reliable Carp shortstop allowed Hanshin to turn the tables in the sixth inning to steal a win in their first game at Koshien Stadium this season. Starting Pitchers: Taiki Ono (1-0, 1.23 ERA) vs. Kazuki Yabuta (1-0, 3.60 ERA) 2 With two…
After yesterday’s rather frustrating loss to the Dragons, the Tigers were in need of a win on Saturday at Kyocera Dome Osaka. Starting Pitchers: Takumi Akiyama (0-1, 4.50 ERA) vs. Dillon Gee (0-1, 7.50 ERA) 1 Tsuyoshi Nishioka got his first start of the year, and reached base in his first at bat via an…
If you like strikeouts, then this was a great game for you to watch. Both pitchers brought their A games, but there was just no beating our ace today. Starting PItchers: Randy Messenger (1-0, 1.29 ERA) vs. Katsuki Azuma (0-0) 4 Our lads gave Azuma a great start to his pro career, letting him strike…
It was our first matchup against the Yokohama DeNA BayStars this season, meaning it was the first chance we got to see Yamato in blue. It also meant a chance at starting the revenge for last year’s playoff elimination. Let’s see how things went down. Starting Pitchers: Taiki Ono (2-7, 4.35 ERA) vs. Satoshi Iizuka…
After what has to be the worst preseason in history, the Tigers looked lifeless, and that all the February talk about a pennant was smoke and mirrors. And heading into Tokyo Dome to face the reigning Eiji Sawamura Award winner surely wouldn’t be an encouraging start to the regular season, would it? Starting Pitchers: Randy…
The Hanshin Tigers announced their top squad members today in preparation for the start of the 2018 season, which starts tomorrow against the Yomiuri Giants at Tokyo Dome (March 30, 6:00 pm JST). Here is the list, as well as some comments from yours truly: Catchers #12 Seishiro Sakamoto: Of the three catchers, he’s got…