Oh, the ways we choose to lose. On Sunday, it was disappointing to not sweep the Baystars, but the team was just getting started with letdowns. Tuesday saw them create a huge chance (down two in the ninth, runners on first and second with no outs) but not make it. Wednesday saw them fight back…
Coming off the successful interleague session (12-6), the Tigers were looking to continue their push back to respectability. All that stood in their way were two pitchers who have extremely good track records at Koshien Stadium: Shota Imanaga and Haruhiro Hamaguchi. They were no match for our guys, particularly Yusuke Ohyama who went yard on…
Back in April when the Tigers were struggling worse than any team in NPB, my friend Steve said this series would be a battle between the two worst teams in NPB. He wasn’t wrong. In fact, I distinctly told him that by June 3, the Tigers would not be worse than the Fighters, at the…
Life has been extremely busy for me, but not so busy that I can’t take in the occasional game at Koshien Stadium. This was, in fact, my first one since a disappointing 0-1 loss to the Hiroshima Carp back on April 10. When the starter was announced yesterday as Aaron Wilkerson I was stoked. When…
The Battle of the Cats always seems to be a good series, and I do not think I have yet seen one that was a sweep for either team. This one was no exception, as the Tigers started out slowly against an unknown (but effective) young pitcher. They turned the series around in a hurry,…
No one said playing the 1st place team in the Pacific League, the Rakuten Eagles, would be easy. But with them entering this series on a 2-9 stretch, it should not have been this hard to put runs on the board. Yes, they have great starting pitching and their bullpen is pretty good. However, our…
The first half of the week featured one of the most memorable performances of the season, on any team. Junya Nishi did not throw a perfect game like Roki Sasaki did last month, and he did not hit multiple home runs, but he did pitch his first-ever complete game and also went yard as the…
After winning six straight, including a sweep at Tokyo Dome against the Giants, it looked as though the Tigers were turning the corner on their season. Alas, as tends to be the case, the series after facing the Giants was a stinker. Golden Week was anything but golden as kids at Koshien were treated to…
Quick: when was the last time the Hanshin Tigers took all three games in a series against the Giants at Tokyo Dome? The answer, apparently, pre-dates H-TEN by a year. It was 2013! Junya Nishi showed us why he was worth being chosen in the first round of the 2019 draft, going 7 strong innings….
No matter that the Tigers defeated Giants’ ace Tommy Smugano last time around… he’s still not one to be taken lightly. When he helped us load the bases in the top of the second with no outs, I thought we could get him good again. But… we scored none. Our leadoff hitter in the third,…