The Tigers had their share of chances in this one, but one particular hitter struggled to capitalize on his chances with runners in scoring position, and for the second straight game, the Giants came out on top.
Starting Pitchers: Takumi Akiyama (1-2, 2.84 ERA) vs. Kazuto Taguchi (0-1, 8.36 ERA)
Surely you don’t need to see an inning-by-inning tale of…
Final Score: Hanshin 0, Yomiuri 3
LP: Akiyama (1-3)
Team Record: 9-9-0
… do you?
Didn’t think so. Instead, my by-the-numbers look at the game.
0
… runs scored by the Tigers, despite
13
… men reaching base: 9 hits, 2 walks, 1 beaning and 1 error. Didn’t help that Yusuke Ohyama left
8
… men on base: two in his first at bat due to an “unlucky” double play, and three in each of his next ones, the last of which was also a double play. He is now hitting
.050
… with runners in scoring position this season. That’s one hit in twenty chances. If only he could approach the excellent “start” to the season that Fumihito Haraguchi is having – a
.714
average, thanks to five hits in seven at bats. He also has two walks, which puts his on-base percentage at .778 and his OPS at 1.778! I know, it’s a small sample size, but so is Shunsuke‘s
.050
… batting average on the season. That in spite of collecting his first hit of the season today. He is now 1-20 on the year. He’s a full .100 lower than Takashi Toritani, who is hitting .150 on the year and has
6
… ground outs to second in his last 21 at bats. It feels more like 12, though. Toritani has not elevated the ball well at all, and while I don’t have sabermetrics at my fingertips, I would be willing to bet that he’s only barreled a couple of balls this year.
In any case, I leave you with this. The Yomiuri Giants are now 8-11 on the year, which is pretty pathetic. But take away their matches with Hanshin and they are a much worse 4-10. That’s right, against our squad, the Giants are
4-1
… which means that against the Giants, we are
1-4
Not too hopeful about this year’s team anymore.