March 13: Starter Shintaro Fujinami didn’t look like himself. Or should I say, he looked a little too much like his 2017 self. Control was lacking, pace was slow, and it all fell apart in the fourth inning. (Prior to that, he played with fire in the first three innings.) In the 4th, it was…
Yesterday was somewhat solemn, in that both teams were playing in memory of their deceased ex-manager (and in the Dragons’ case, pitcher), Senichi Hoshino. Today was also a somber day for Japan: 7 years ago, a terrible disaster (earthquake, tsunami, nuclear meltdown) struck the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan. But at least for Hanshin fans,…
March 9: Let’s just say that Randy Messenger didn’t get off on the right foot. The first inning saw him give up 5 hits and 4 runs. He said after the game that it was his first time facing live hitting this year, and that a lot of his pitches were right over the plate…
Let’s remember that it’s not about who wins and who loses. Unless we win. Then we can talk about how we’re going to be the champs this year. Anyhow… March 6: Starting pitcher Shintaro Fujinami looked like a completely different man. He struck out the first and third batters, then the fifth and sixth, then…
Since it’s the preseason and these games mean precious little once the season has begun, we will keep things short and sweet. March 3: Starting pitcher Takumi Akiyama went 4 scoreless innings, scattering 3 hits (no more than one per inning) and striking out 4. Kyuji Fujikawa (37) threw the fifth and allowed 2 runs on…
In Game 1 of the first round of the 2014 Climax Series, Randy Messenger pitched six shutout innings and got support via a home run by Kosuke Fukudome in the sixth. In Game 1 of the 2017… (same as last sentence). You probably remember that 2014 is the last time these Tigers found themselves playing…
Instead of risking a retirement game in the rain on October 6, the club elected to postpone the last game of the season until the 10th. The result could be that the anticipated starting rotation for the Climax Series against the BayStars could have to be shifted. But either way, ending the season on a…
Though the Tigers’ place in the standings is already set, this next-to-last game was still important. 1) The team had not scored at Koshien in 29 innings heading into this series; 2) It was riding a 7-game winless streak at home; 3) This was a great chance to give the young guys more playing time….
The Yomiuri Giants have gotten the better of us most of the year, especially on our home turf. Though our spot in the playoffs was secure, second was still up for grabs, and the Giants were looking to complete their comeback attempt at sneaking into third. Though the BayStars shut us out in two straight…
This shouldn’t have been a “must win” series. By now, Hanshin should have locked up second place. Unfortunately, life as a Tigers fan is never that easy. Two straight shutout losses to these BayStars left the team up just 3.5 games with 7 to go. Fortunately, now with 4 games to go, the gap is…