Despite a big win yesterday, the Tigers were still at a marked disadvantage in this one. First, they were still on the road, playing in a stadium where they had a 3-12 record this season including playoffs. Second, they needed a win, whereas the Giants could settle for a tie and advance. Third, they were…
After yesterday’s heartbreaking disappointing loss, the Tigers had no choice but to take games 2 and 3 in order to advance. The task for Randy Messenger would be a tall one, as his record at Tokyo Dome this year was 1-2 in four starts and his average run support on the year was just 2.25. Still,…
Here’s a hitter-by-hitter breakdown of Saturday’s game. No spoilers in the opening! Just read and enjoy! Top 1: Hiroki Uemoto fly out to center, Ryota Imanari grounder to short, Takashi Toritani strikeout (swinging). 0 hits, 0 runs. Bottom 1: Tateoka leadoff single, Kataoka bunt, Sakamoto fly out to center, Abe fly out to right. 1…
The week started well for the Tigers, though first and second place fell out of reach before September came to an end. Still, one more win in their final two games would all but punch their ticket to the postseason. Unfortunately for them, they would face a Yakult Swallows team that could clinch the pennant…
The 12-in-12 could not have been going any worse than it had up to this point. Two wins and eight losses, with the lone wins coming against the Yakult Swallows (1-1) and Hiroshima Carp (1-2). Two losses each at the hands of the BayStars and Giants, plus one against the Chunichi Dragons, completely eliminated the…
The losing streak was at four. First place was far in the distance, second was looking unlikely, and it seemed like a matter of time before third would slip away as well. The Tigers were back to being a .500 team and were heading into enemy territory, where they had not fared well. Then the…
Just avoid the September sputter. That’s all the Tigers had to do in order to hold on to first and clinch their first pennant in a decade. But the final month of regular season play has not been a good one for the Tigers in recent years, and this year was starting to look like…
The lead had evaporated. With 18 games to go, the most crucial games of the season started in this series. How would the team respond? Could they defeat the underachieving Carp? Take back first place? Let’s see how this one played out. Game 1: I was able to watch this one from the first base…
As has been the case in the Central League all season, winning streaks are followed by losing streaks, which are followed by winning streaks again. The Tigers had won 3 straight heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Dragons, but lost 5-0 in the series finale. Would it be the beginning of another losing streak, or…
The triumphant return to Koshien was everything the fans wanted. The follow-up two games were every fan’s nightmare, unless you count the 7 runs in the last two innings of Sunday’s game (the team still lost that one, 11-8). With three more at Koshien against the team that took two straight from them in Hiroshima…