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…
Back to Koshien at last. With two teams still breathing down the Tigers’ necks, they needed a strong series against one of those teams, and the red-hot Yakult Swallows came to town looking to take first place from the suddenly weary-looking Hanshin Tigers. Let’s take a look at how the first professional baseball at Koshien…
So the lead was now down to a half game. The Hanshin Tigers needed to take advantage of the short “home” respite at Kyocera Dome on the weekend against the floundering Yokohama DeNA Baystars. Could they hold them off and preserve or even build on their lead over the surging Giants? Game 1: Starter Minoru…
It really doesn’t matter too much what the Tigers’ record is. They need to beat their longtime rivals, the Yomiuri Giants. Wada himself said, “We’re more focused on the rivalry than our record in this series.” He backed that up by slotting three of his strongest pitchers to take the mound under the EGG in…