From these scores, it should be clear to all that Meiji Jingu Stadium is a hitters’ park, and that Vantelin Dome Nagoya is a pitchers’ park. It is also true that the Dragons actually have a pretty good pitching staff, while the Swallows, at least on that day, did not. OK, it’s not just that…
Thursday night, the Hanshin Tigers clinched their first Central League pennant since 2005, and just the sixth in club history. From what I observed on TV and in the newspapers, they were up quite late into the night (as they deserved to fully celebrate their accomplishment). They then had to travel to Hiroshima very fatigued…
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)…
For the first time in club history, the Hanshin Tigers have put together two 10-game winning streaks in a single season. The team is still undefeated in September, and now needs a win (OR a Hiroshima loss) to clinch the Central League pennant tomorrow night at Koshien Stadium against the Giants. There will be no…
If you have read any of my series recaps over the past 8 years, you know what I’m going to say. I’m a broken record when it comes to this because it’s such a solid fact: the Hanshin Tigers do not score many runs or win many games in Nagoya at the Dome. Well after…
Ironic, isn’t it, that the first full series that I was able to watch after being away from Japan most of August wasn’t even on network TV! Nevertheless, the Tigers were able to take advantage of a weakened Swallows lineup. On Friday, rookie Shota Morishita hit two bombs at a stadium he played in often…
Note: I did not watch these games and am doing this recap (along with the rest of the August scorecards) retrospectively for the purpose of having them on record. Enjoy the scorecards for what they are worth, but I do not have anything insightful to say about this series. These two wins at Kyocera Dome give…
The Dragons had been struggling, and the Tigers were coming off a good Ultra Summer week at Koshien. But none of that matters when the venue is Vantelin Dome in Nagoya. The Tigers almost never perform well in this town, but needed to take two of three in this series to keep their good stretch…
The Hiroshima Carp entered this series on a 10-game winning streak. Because of this, the Tigers found themselves on the outside looking in for just the second time since May. And just like last time, the team that took over first only stayed there for one game. Starting pitching held the Carp to a minimum…
There’s nothing more satisfying than beating down the Yomiuri Giants at Koshien Stadium. Tuesday was a memorial game for the late Shintaro Yokota, and the team came through with a big win, thanks to clutch hitting from Yusuke Ohyama and Teruaki Sato. Wednesday saw the team storm back from a 5-3 deficit in a thriller….