The big win on Opening Day was a great sign that our guys could still hit the ball, hit it hard, hit it often, even against top notch pitching. That fun continued in Game 2, but when the tides turned in the sixth, they carried us out of the driver’s seat and into loserland. Starting…
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…
March 16: Stomping on the Eagles in Shizuoka This game started quite slowly, as the two aces showed off their repertoires before helpless bats. Our guys finally got to Takahiro Norimoto in the fifth, when Kento Itohara smacked a 2-run double to the left field corner. T 2-0 E Randy Messenger is just getting warmed…
March 13: Starter Shintaro Fujinami didn’t look like himself. Or should I say, he looked a little too much like his 2017 self. Control was lacking, pace was slow, and it all fell apart in the fourth inning. (Prior to that, he played with fire in the first three innings.) In the 4th, it was…
Let’s remember that it’s not about who wins and who loses. Unless we win. Then we can talk about how we’re going to be the champs this year. Anyhow… March 6: Starting pitcher Shintaro Fujinami looked like a completely different man. He struck out the first and third batters, then the fifth and sixth, then…
Since it’s the preseason and these games mean precious little once the season has begun, we will keep things short and sweet. March 3: Starting pitcher Takumi Akiyama went 4 scoreless innings, scattering 3 hits (no more than one per inning) and striking out 4. Kyuji Fujikawa (37) threw the fifth and allowed 2 runs on…
It’s another precious day off for our heroes on the diamond, so let’s look back on the last few days of spring training action! First, the “news”: Newly acquired relief pitcher Diego Moreno looked good pitching in the bullpen and in live batting practice. Some have called him a “skinny Mateo” – he uses the…
Though the year hardly ended on a positive note, it was still one filled with lots to get excited about. There were good times, and there were bad times. Here’s H-TEN’s look back at the season, with the ten biggest things that defined it. 10) Kakefu Sheds Uniform for the Last Time As you may…
See Recaps of Game 1 here, and Game 2 here. The Kansai area got way too much rain for baseball to have been played on Sunday or Monday. But due to poor scheduling plans, one of those days had a historically muddy game. After Monday night off, the teams played a winner-takes-all matchup on Tuesday….
In Game 1 of the first round of the 2014 Climax Series, Randy Messenger pitched six shutout innings and got support via a home run by Kosuke Fukudome in the sixth. In Game 1 of the 2017… (same as last sentence). You probably remember that 2014 is the last time these Tigers found themselves playing…