Today’s game looked really bleak for the Tigers until the bottom of the seventh. Unfortunately, the feeling lasted only a few minutes as things fell apart again the very next inning.
Starting Pitchers: Atsushi Nohmi (0-0) vs. Shotaro Kasahara (0-1, 6.00 ERA)
2
Nohmi got bailed out by Yoshio Itoi, who threw out a runner at home…
(￣∇￣ﾉﾉ“ﾊﾟﾁﾊﾟﾁﾊﾟﾁ!!(￣∇￣ﾉﾉ”ﾊﾟﾁﾊﾟﾁﾊﾟﾁ!! RT @yakyuragu: 🐯ヨッシャ〜❗
糸井、坂本、ナイスだ❗👏🏻😆#阪神タイガース pic.twitter.com/pwb3DemaCZ
— まこと (@bakucook99) April 8, 2018
3
Almonte got his first of four hits (and four RBI) on the day on a double, and Nohmi’s collapse had begun.
Tigers 0, Dragons 1
3
Fortunately for Nohmi, his mates bailed him out right away, as a couple of doubles – Seishiro Sakamoto (making his season debut) and Shun Takayama – evened the score.
Tigers 1, Dragons 1
5
But alas, after a quick out, Nohmi committed an error at first, then allowed a couple more singles and a walk before leaving the game down a run. Nohmi’s line… 4.1 IP, 92 TP, 8 H, 2 BB, 5 R, 1 ER, 5 K. With the bases loaded, Tsuyoshi Ishizaki got the second out of the inning quite easily, but then after a passed ball, he walked two and drilled one in the head (actually the pitch was elbow-high but the batter ducked right into the pitch). Clean-up on Aisle 5, please. Clean-up on Aisle 5…
Tigers 1, Dragons 5
7
Things remained pretty somber and silent on the offensive side until Matayoshi came to the mound. He could not find the strike zone, and when he did, we got hits. Out, walk, infield hit, out, hit (Takayama RBI), hit (Tsuyoshi Nishioka RBI), walk, hit (Wilin Rosario game-tying RBIs), walk, walk (Yusuke Ohyama go-ahead RBI), strikeout. Comeback complete.
Tigers 6, Dragons 5
8
Marcos Mateo self-destructed, loading the bases with nobody out (just like yesterday). But this time, he only recorded one out on his way to blowing this one wide open…
Tigers 6, Dragons 9
9
The inning after our third double play of the day (thanks Itohara, Takayama, Toritani), we got a bit of momentum on a hit by Nishioka, a HBP on Itoi, and a walk for Fukudome. But Ohyama’s shot up the middle didn’t find its way to the outfield, and instead resulted in a force out at second, scoring one run but also seeing us come down to our final out. And before we knew it, there were no more outs.