After struggling to score runs against the Yakult Swallows (but still winning all three games), the Hanshin Tigers hosted the Chunichi Dragons over the weekend. It was a much needed six-game home stand after a 27-game trip away from Koshien Stadium. For the most part, this one went down as expected, although Sunday’s game left fans…
Typically, Nagoya Dome is not a friendly place for the Hanshin Tigers. In fact, in the team’s first two trips to face the Chunichi Dragons in their home park this season, the Tigers went 1-4 (with another loss coming in a countryside park). But the start of the “Road of Death” at the end of…
Could the annual “Road of Death” road trip start anywhere worse than Nagoya Dome? Our boys have NEVER fared well there, except perhaps the last time we won the pennant, back in 2005. Having been completely humiliated the last time we faced the Chunichi Dragons in their territory, Hanshin needed to take at least two…
After a humiliating series sweep at the hands of these young upstart Dragons, Hanshin needed to get their revenge by winning their final two games before heading in to the all-star break. And although Nagoya’s boys came to Kansai on a two-game losing streak, they saved two left-handed import pitchers (against whom Hanshin has had…
Life as a Hanshin Tigers fan has not been any fun lately. Since the bullpen meltdown on June 18 against the Eagles, the team has managed just three runs in three games, two of which came with the team down a dozen runs against the Carp (and neither was an RBI hit). Could they right…
It certainly is unusual to see the Tigers playing this well. Especially in light of the fact that heading into this set, Hanshin had winning records against every CL team except these Chunichi Dragons. Would playing at home change the team’s fortunes? (After all, Hanshin took two of three last time at Koshien!) Game 35 –…
Vs. Chunichi Dragons @ Koshien Stadium Hanshin faced lefties Valdes (Tuesday), Jordan (Wednesday) and Ohno (Thursday) the last time these teams met earlier this month. With starters usually pitching the same day of the week (6 man rotation and Mondays off), one would have expected to face completely different guys this time around, But… Game…
Last season, Hanshin won just 5 of 13 matches in Nagoya against the dismal Chunichi Dragons. But the hard times at the dome go back further than one season. In the 20 years of the Dome’s existence, Hanshin has put up a pitiful 82-153-5 record there. So there’s no doubt that expecting a sweep, no matter how…
For the final time in 2016, the Hanshin Tigers hit the road. The fact of the matter is, the team has had far better success away from Koshien than it has at Japan’s holy grounds. However, heading into this one, the team that gave it the most misery away from home was, you guessed it, the…
A three-game sweep at the hands of the then-fifth place Swallows pushed the Tigers down a spot in the standings, and the dream of reaching the playoffs seemed less likely to come true. A two-game stint in Nagoya with the team’s two best pitchers slated to start should have been the remedy to the team’s…