There was no baseball over the past four days, and perhaps it was for the better: the Tigers were coming off yet another humiliating 3-game sweep at the hands of the Giants. (I was at two of those.)
But actually, there was baseball – just not the kind that counts in the standings. That’s right – the best players in the game gathered for the annual All-Star Games. Let’s go through the action, highlighting in particular what our boys did:
Fresh All-Star Game – Thursday, July 11
Represented by development catcher Yuya Katayama (2018 D1) infielders Takahiro Kumagai (2017 R3) and Ryuhei Obata (2018 R2), and pitchers Kosuke Baba (2017 R1) and Yukiya Saitoh (2018 R4), the Western League prevailed over their Eastern foes 5-1.
Kumagai recorded an RBI single in the top of the second to pad the Western’s lead. It would have been nice to see him showcase his speed but the third out was recorded during his hit, as Kozono of the Carp got thrown out trying to advance to third.
Obata spotted him at the plate in the fifth, worked for a free pass, and then stole second base quite comfortably:
As for the pitchers, Baba struck out three in the seventh, sandwiching two singles in there for good (bad) measure. He was relieved by Saitoh in the eighth. The power pitcher promised to throw nothing but gas, and he got three guys out on six pitches.
Katayama led them through their innings and caught the final inning of the game, too. That was the only inning in which the Western pitchers surrendered a run. Still, I’d say it was a pretty successful day for our youngsters.
All-Star Game 1 – Friday, July 12 @ Tokyo Dome
Fielders often start one game while mostly watching the other, depending on which stadiums are hosting. So with this one being in the enemy’s back yard, our pitchers all rested and hitters only came in as subs. Still, when they joined the action in this one, they made their presences felt.
Koji Chikamoto was the first to join the action, replacing Yoshihiro Maru (Y*miuri) on first base in the sixth inning. He went on the very first pitch, easily stealing second. He later reached base on a fielder’s choice and got caught stealing.
Ryutaro Umeno came in as a pinch hitter in the seventh, dribbling one to second and reaching first base safely.
And despite the Central League being behind 6-1 in the ninth inning, the dramatics – and the night – belonged to Fumihito Haraguchi. Pinch-hitting for his catching mate, he took a 1-1 pitch over the wall in left, sending the whole dome into a frenzy. Touching moment from the man who came back from cancer just over a month ago.
Final Score: Who Cares to Who Cares?
All-Star Game 2 – Saturday, July 13 @ Koshien Stadium
So this is the game that Tigers fans were more excited about. Their guys would be getting the start, and their pitchers would stand on that familiar mound. NONE of them disappointed. ALL of them thrilled the masses. In a nutshell, here are the first at-bats for our three fielders:
Chikamoto bomb. Haraguchi jack. Umeno tater. Fireworks in the rain!
As if that weren’t enough, Chikamoto doubled in his next at-bat (probably would have stretched it into a triple if the ground conditions weren’t so bad). Then a single his next time up. Only a triple to go!!! And it’s just the third inning! Before we find out if he made history, let’s talk a bit about what the pitchers did.
Koyo Aoyagi survived a guy reaching base and a follow-up base hit, getting out of the fifth inning with one of his trademark GIDPs and a final groundout. The sixth inning was led off with another error, but three groundouts later, the goat was back in the dugout with two clean all-star innings on his resume.
Two innings later, Pierce Johnson struck out one, induced a pop-up to the next, and after a double, closed the door on the PL.
And naturally, Kyuji Fujikawa entered the ninth to his trademark walk-up music, and ended things with all fire. Just like he did 13 years ago in his first all-star game, he basically promised to throw nothing but heat. Three fly balls and the game was over!
But before we conclude this write-up, let’s get back to our golden rookie. He got a double that was likely prevented from reaching the wall due to the soaked outfield grass. Still, four hits isn’t bad for his first ever game against the class of the PL. He got one final at-bat in the seventh, and…
Yeah, the PL fielders helped make this happen, but hey… it’s baseball. It’s the all-star game. Let him have his cycle.
Talk about an incredible night for our boys, despite some ridiculous playing conditions that came close to rivaling what we got back in the playoffs in 2017.
I almost wish I had been there to see it in person. Almost. Seeing it on TV was a lot more comfortable.