If you don’t remember April, it was not a good month – certainly not the first 20+ days. The team saw itself six games below .500 and potentially staying in or near the cellar for the balance of the year. But May has brought in a new era, literally, and with the onset of Reiwa, the Tigers have come to life – particularly the bats. Let’s look back on the second full month of the season…
Interestingly, the Tigers won the final game of April against the Carp, then the first game of May against those same Carp. They also lost the final game of May and the first game of June to… the Carp. (They lost on May 2 after those two straight wins. It would only make sense for them to win on June 2 after two straight losses… right? Make it happen, Tigers!)
Well, you can look at the May schedule if you just want to see how the Tigers did from game to game over the course of the month (they went an impressive 15-9-1). Let’s look at how some players or parts of the team produced, though.
The batting order was pretty consistent for the entire month, which is a good sign that the manager trusts his guys:
1) Koji Chikamoto (CF): .283 AVG, 10 SB on the month
2) Kento Itohara (2B): .268 AVG, 19 BB
3) Yoshio Itoi (RF): .266 AVG, 2 HR (after none in April)
4) Yusuke Ohyama (3B): .290 AVG, 3 HR, 17 RBI
5) Kosuke Fukudome (LF): .259 AVG, 2 HR, injured and DL’ed on May 31
6) Ryutaro Umeno (C): .280 AVG, 2 HR
7) Jefry Marte (1B): .257 AVG, 5 HR, 13 RBI
8) Seiya Kinami (SS): .232 AVG, 1 HR, 10 RBI
There were four walk-off wins on the month (two attended by yours truly) and just one against (on the last day of May). The team got shut out twice, and blanked the opponents twice as well.
Speaking of the pitchers, there have been a lot of surprises, both good and bad.
In the rotation, Randy Messenger (4.73 ERA, 4.39 K/9) has continued to sputter despite some signs of his younger self (complete game win on May 4). The big surprises have come in the form of Haruto Takahashi (2.08 ERA) and Koyo Aoyagi (3.00 ERA in May with a 3.4 K/BB ratio — his career ratio coming into 2019 was 1.35). Also holding fort were Yuki Nishi (2.57 ERA in May) and Minoru Iwata (2.01 ERA in May), the latter of whom put up nearly as many May innings as he did in all of 2018. Even Onelki Garcia returned from the farm to post a shutout (May 26) in what was hopefully the start of a full 180-degree turn on his horrendous April.
The bullpen has been, for the most part, lights-out. Wins and losses aren’t everything, but when you get 7 wins versus just 2 losses out of your relievers, that shows two things: (1) the bats came to life (and even came from behind) on more than one occasion late in games, and (2) the pitchers kept the other team from doing the same. Credit goes to Kyuji Fujikawa (0.00 ERA despite 14 walks in 11 innings), Pierce Johnson (1.29 ERA, 12.21 K/9) and Rafael Dolis (2.51 ERA, 6 saves). Koki Moriya (5.91 ERA) has started to show some vulnerability, while Atsushi Nohmi (4.66 ERA), who turned 40 this past week, continues to sound the sirens.
So what can we expect from this team in June? Look for some lineup shuffles, because (1) Fukudome is out with injury, (2) Itoi has not played yet in June, (3) Shun Takayama has gotten a couple of clutch hits of late, including this one, and (4) with a DH needed in 9 road games during interleague, perhaps Fumihito Haraguchi will make a heroic return to the top squad! This is definitely a crucial month of ball, as a good showing against the PL could push the team higher in the standings (especially if the Carp falter), but the opposite also holds true.
As you look ahead to the next 29 days, here’s the final hit of the first day of June: Kenya Nagasaka’s first career home run.