giants

Games 46-48 vs Giants: We Have a Hitting Problem

Games 46-48 vs Giants: We Have a Hitting Problem

The Yomiuri Giants (who seem to be trying to rebrand themselves as the Tokyo Giants based on uniforms and caps with a TG logo) have good pitching. Don’t get me wrong. But our team has been struggling mightily at the dish for some time now, and this weekend was no exception. A no-hitter on Friday,…

Games 29-31 @ Giants: Lots of Mistakes; Series Loss

Games 29-31 @ Giants: Lots of Mistakes; Series Loss

The Tigers have been playing excellent baseball in the past month or so. Losses were few and far between, and series losses were becoming so rare, they were more like mythology than real life. But during this particular weekend, the team had uncharacteristically poor fundamentals. Two errors and two (or three, depending on how you…

Games 16-18 vs Giants: Rain Prevented a True Sweep!

Games 16-18 vs Giants: Rain Prevented a True Sweep!

After the rather embarrassing opening series in Tokyo against these same Giants (25 straight innings without a run), the Tigers’ pride was on the line for this, the first home set of 2024 against their longtime rivals. They continued to struggle with run production, but the pitching trio of Shoki Murakami, Masashi Itoh, and Yuki…

Games 1-3 @ Giants: Bats Slumber 25/27 Innings

Games 1-3 @ Giants: Bats Slumber 25/27 Innings

The title defense began on March 29 at Tokyo Dome. You would think the defending champs, and the only CL team to finish in the top 3 for 5 straight years, would get to start their season at home! However, the Tigers traded that privilege for the right to host the Yomiuri Giants at Koshien…

Game 1 @ Giants: Silenced in the T-Dome

Game 1 @ Giants: Silenced in the T-Dome

The reigning NPB champions started their title defense on Friday night at Tokyo Dome. Koyo Aoyagi took the mound for the Tigers as they faced the Yomiuri Giants led by ace Shosei Togo. The first four innings were clean for both teams, though each had a chance to break the scoreless tie. In the top…

Episode 194: Looking at the Rest of the CL

Episode 194: Looking at the Rest of the CL

Hosts T-Ray and Sanjay go over the latest team news, recap the preseason games from the first half of the month, and then listen to five guest contributors who share their thoughts on one of the other Central League teams. Follow Scott (https://chunichisoul.blogspot.com/), Heather (@ysbaseball2896), Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@YakyuCosmo), Brian (@RiouxBM), and Lucas (@lucasborjaNPB) on X…

Games 133-134 vs Giants: Best Ever H2H Season!

Games 133-134 vs Giants: Best Ever H2H Season!

The Tigers are historically a bad team against the Giants. Through the end of the 2020 season, it was an 827-1086-71 (.432) mark. Fortunately, the Tigers have started chipping away at that deficit in the last three years. Two years ago, it was 13-9-3 in our favor. Last year, once again there was a four-game…

From the Stadium: Pennant is OURS

From the Stadium: Pennant is OURS

As some of you have heard, I was fortunate enough to have tickets to Thursday’s game at Koshien Stadium. Truth be told, we did not plan it ahead of time to be this way, it just worked out for us. Me and Sanjay (podcast co-host) wanted to take in a game together, and since he…

Game 128 vs. Giants: WE A.R.E. THE CHAMPIONS!

Game 128 vs. Giants: WE A.R.E. THE CHAMPIONS!

History was made at Hanshin Koshien Stadium last night, September 14. The Tigers had a magic number of 1, and were riding a 10-game winning streak. Their perfect September was on the line, and an 11-game streak had not been achieved in 41 seasons. Nevertheless, the team put aside some early-inning jitters (see recap below)…