I’m not sure if you all followed my guide and did your part, but fans across Japan (and around the world) made their wishes known, and the result is seven… SEVEN Hanshin Tigers getting voted into the All-Star games, which will take place on July 16 and 17 (Saitama & Sendai, respectively). Keep in mind…
This was a must-win game, given that the Giants had the night off… and Joe Gunkel was up to the task of leading the team to victory. He scattered six hits over his seven innings of shutout ball, walking none and striking out five. Meanwhile, the top of the order put up points every time…
It’s not like the Tigers did not get on base enough tonight. They just could not stay on the bases long enough to reach home, for the most part. Two runners got thrown out trying to advance a base too many, and two more got gunned down trying to steal second. The result is that…
Masashi Itoh has been a pleasant surprise as a rookie pitcher, but other teams have made him pay for his mistakes. Today was no exception, as two Giants hitters took him deep. A third took Shintaro Fujinami to dead center. Teruaki Sato’s completion of home runs against every other CL team in his rookie year?…
Takumi Akiyama did not look like himself again. He now has as many walks in his last two outings (5) as he had in his first seven. Still, he kept the damage to a minimum, thanks in large part to UZR king Koji Chikamoto’s superior range in center. Meanwhile, the bats found all the gaps,…
Should I continue to just pin the blame on the umpires for the Tigers’ losses during interleague? As long as the umps call balls strikes in crucial situations (like two Jefry Marte walks turned into strikeouts), giving Buffaloes’ starter Taisuke Yamaoka liberty to widen the strike zone all night… I reserve the right to do…
After yesterday’s slugfest, fans on both sides of this battle of the felines were looking forward to more long balls and dramatics. Instead, they were treated to a pitchers’ duel that was aided by the umpires calling a very wide strike zone. The result is that Masashi Itoh’s full-count mistake against Hotaka Yamakawa in the…
Takumi Akiyama has a bit of a complex. He knows his stuff is not particularly overpowering. But it was more than enough to get him through the first seven innings of the game allowing just one baserunner: Brandon Laird on a fly ball that had no business letting gravity pull it to the ground. The…
This game started really poorly for the Tigers bats, as they hit into double plays in the first two innings, but then they came to life after that for a couple of innings… and then went right back into hibernation. Good thing Raul Alcantara had four strong innings of his own (and two not-so-good ones),…
Some games, the hitting just does not seem to be there. When the other team’s pitcher brings his A-game, fans just need to be patient and wait for the batters to do things later in the match. Takumi Akiyama kept the Dragons at bay, save for a long ball from their catcher, and Koji Chikamoto…