There’s nothing more satisfying than beating down the Yomiuri Giants at Koshien Stadium. Tuesday was a memorial game for the late Shintaro Yokota, and the team came through with a big win, thanks to clutch hitting from Yusuke Ohyama and Teruaki Sato. Wednesday saw the team storm back from a 5-3 deficit in a thriller. Then on Thursday, when manager Akinobu Okada kept his starter in too long for the second straight night, the damage had been done. The bats fought back but not enough to get the team a sweep. And since the Carp have extended their winning streak to 10, they are now sitting in first. That makes this weekend’s series all the more important as we host one more three-game set before heading off on the “Road of Death” (which we shall discuss in the next podcast).
