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…
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…
First of all, congratulations to the BayStars on their second straight trip to the Climax Series Final Stage! Hanshin lost to a strong team, and I hope they can take down the Carp next! Ryo (@baystarsEN) is back to share some of his thoughts on the series between Hanshin and his Yokohama DeNA BayStars. Our…
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….
It sure has been a dry stretch in the NPB baseball season. Having played just one game in the past week, the Tigers must be feeling quite antsy to get the playoff schedule started! We fans feel the same way, too, no doubt. As we wait for the playoffs to start this coming weekend, here’s…
This shouldn’t have been a “must win” series. By now, Hanshin should have locked up second place. Unfortunately, life as a Tigers fan is never that easy. Two straight shutout losses to these BayStars left the team up just 3.5 games with 7 to go. Fortunately, now with 4 games to go, the gap is…
The Tigers come into this one having lost four straight games to the Hiroshima Carp. But now that the red helmets have clinched the league pennant and deactivated Brad Eldred among others, and with the Tigers actually having something to play for, perhaps this would be the team’s chance to end the season series on…
The gap has shortened once again. With hopes of first place completely vanished, and eight matches remaining against these Yokohama DeNA BayStars, this series was crucial in establishing that (a) second place is OURS, and that (b) if we meet in the Climax Series, it won’t be easy for them. In three days, the Tigers…
After struggling to score runs against the Yakult Swallows (but still winning all three games), the Hanshin Tigers hosted the Chunichi Dragons over the weekend. It was a much needed six-game home stand after a 27-game trip away from Koshien Stadium. For the most part, this one went down as expected, although Sunday’s game left fans…
No matter how weak the Yomiuri Giants appear (1 game under .500 entering this series), they always seem to bring their best against the Hanshin Tigers. As the Tigers’ long 27-game stretch away from Koshien Stadium drew to a close with this series, the team hoped to end on a high note. Unfortunately, the note…