What can you say about these Hanshin TIgers? I can say that the bullpen took a real beating these past 18 games. I can also say that the bats came through a ton against some really good pitchers. Today made that evident beyond any other game in interleague play. Ace rookie Takahisa Hayakawa lasted just 5 innings, giving up 3 runs (including a home run to Koji Chikamoto), and Yuki Matsui also bowed to Chikamoto’s superiority, while the bullpen (namely Kosuke Baba) nearly blew this game after Joe Gunkel pitched six shutout innings and left the game with just 73 pitches of mileage on his recovered right arm. But any way you look at it, the Tigers salvaged what last week looked like a wonky interleague by sweeping the Fighters and Eagles up in northern Japan. Come back to Kansai triumphantly and rest, Tigers! The Giants are up next! (The SEVEN GAMES BACK Giants. The TIED FOR SECOND Giants. But still, they’re the Giants. No mercy!)
