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, 2.16 ERA) vs. Yuya Yanagi (1-1, 2.84 ERA)
1
The Dragons jumped on Randy early with their 1-2 hitters reaching base on hits. (The latter *could* have been a force out if our second baseman had squeezed his glove on the sharp grounder a little harder.) A couple of outs and a walk later, and the bases were juiced. A dribbler that found enough turf between the mound and third base brought in the game’s first run.
Tigers 0, Dragons 1
6
Our guys didn’t do a whole lot right in this one until two hits from our cleanup hitters (Yoshio Itoi single, Wilin Rosario double) put two guys in scoring position. They scored, but not how you would have expected them to. Their first baseman threw the ball a foot over his catcher, allowing two runs to score on a grounder. But the fun didn’t end there. Ryutaro Umeno pulled out his trademark “safety squeeze” to bunt home a third run, and with men on first and second, Randy picked up his second hit of the night, and Kento Itohara scored on it.
Tigers 4, Dragons 1
6
Cue the sloppy fielding. (By the way, I have left out a few miscues because they didn’t result in runs being scored.) Messenger had been perfect for four straight innings, and it only got disrupted by a walk. Their next hitter, Viciedo, hit into what should have been a double play, but our second baseman (who shall remain nameless) glove tossed the ball wide of the base, and both runners were safe. A run would come around and score on a hit to right, but Randy got out of the inning. That was the end of his night, but he went: 6 IP, 98 TP, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 K.
Tigers 4, Dragons 2
9
The Dragons got runners on base in each of the next innings, but nothing came of it, until… Rafael Dolis fielded a grounder with no outs and the bases empty, and their speedy runner beat out the throw (by a hair). If Dolis had played it with just a hint of urgency it would have been an easy out. That would cost him, as a wild pitch, a grounder to first and a sacrifice fly would bring the runner home. But that was all the Dragons could muster.
Final Score: Hanshin 4, Chunichi 3.
WP: Messenger (3-1). SV: Dolis (6)
Team Record: 8-7-0
Notes: Messenger now has a better batting average than: Takayama, Toritani, Ohyama, and Umeno… Today was Takayama’s 25th and Mateo’s 34th birthday. The former went oh-for-4 at the plate, and the latter enjoyed a day of rest… Rosario picked up his first three-hit game as a Tiger. Tomorrow sees Taiki Ono facing off against the legendary Daisuke “Dice-K” Matsuzaka.