The Yokohama DeNA Baystars thought that lining up 8 lefties against Hanshin starter Koyo Aoyagi might help them generate some offense. They were wrong. In fact, they collected just two hits and a walk during Aoyagi’s time on the mound, which was 5 ⅔ innings when all was said and done. He got pulled with two runners on base, one of which scored, so he did not technically keep them off the scoreboard.
But the good news is that the Tigers’ offense came to life in the second inning, stringing together four hits and getting help from a Baystars error, to take a 3-0 lead. They added well-manufactured runs in the fourth and fifth innings (squeeze play and sacrifice fly, respectively), and it looked like the game was ours.
However, when Kyle Keller took the eighth inning, he immediately put two men into scoring position. A strikeout later, they came around to score on a pinch-hit single. The lead was down to two.
The Tigers put up an insurance run in the bottom of the frame, as Ryuhei Obata pushed his third hit of the game past a sprawling shortstop, scoring Teruaki Sato (whose aggressive base running got him into scoring position in the first place).
Cue the dramatics. WBC returnee Atsuki Yuasa was deemed ready to start the season on the top squad and manning the ninth. But he ran his pitch count really high, going the distance against each of the first four hitters he faced: walk, walk, strikeout, walk. Bases loaded and two all-star hitters due up. Fortunately, Yuasa got Sano to strike out on three pitches, and after one last full count (to Soto), he induced the game-ending pop-up to short.
WE WIN! Last season, our first W of the year came in Game 10. This year is going to be different, folks! Speaking of different, I tried “scoring” the game, old-school style. I have honestly never done this before and did not have time before the game to take any online tutorials, so it might not be perfect. But I did my best. I hope you enjoy it, plus the highlight video below.
