“I wanna hold them as close to zero as I can.” — 20-year old Tigers’ starter Shintaro Fujinami, before the game. Unfortunately, the day off and change in venue did nothing to alter the outcome of Game 3. Like Atsushi Nohmi did in Game 2, Fujinami surrendered an early run and the Tigers bats never found…
In October, everything has been coming up Tigers. They won their last game of the regular season on October 1, watched the Carp hand second place to them by losing their final game, won their best-of-3 against those same Carp despite scoring just one run in 21 innings, and then swept the Giants in their…
History was made at Koshien Stadium tonight. For the first time ever, two foreigners were named starting pitchers of Game 1 of the Nippon Series. This one was supposed to be a low-scoring battle between Randy Messenger and Jason Standridge. Both had great seasons, and Standridge even shut out the Tigers at Koshien earlier this…
Scheduled Games & Possible Starters: GAME 1: Saturday, October 25, 6:15 pm (Koshien Stadium): Randy Messenger (13-10) vs. Jason Standridge (11-8) GAME 2: Sunday, October 26, 6:15 pm (Koshien Stadium): Minoru Iwata (9-8) vs. Kenji Ohtonari (3-1) GAME 3: Tuesday, October 28, 6:30 pm (YafuOku Dome): Shintaro Fujinami (10-7) vs. Shota Takeda (3-3) GAME 4: Wednesday, October 29, 6:30 pm…
Starting with manager Tatsunori Hara, I’m sure there are many Yomiuri Giants shaking their heads today, still wondering how and why they got swept in their home park against a seemingly weaker Hanshin Tigers team. I offer you three simple reasons, none of which really answer any questions but all of which show just how…
Before the Giants could even get out of the first inning, Tigers fans were partying like it was 1999 2005. If they keep this up, the party may turn into something circa 1985 in a week or so. The Tigers rode three early home runs to a 8-4 victory over the Giants, sweeping them for the…
The Tigers are just a win away from their first trip to the Japan Series in nine years. With tonight’s 4-2 win over the Giants, the series now sits at 3-1 in favor of the road team, which needs just one win in its next three to advance. Tonight’s win was slightly different from their…
On paper, the series leans in the Giants’ favor considerably. There’s a reason they take things to the diamond, though. The Hanshin Tigers stormed out to a 5-0 lead and never really looked back. With closer Seung-hwan Oh on the mound in the 9th, the atmosphere in Tokyo Dome was subdued, as fans were left to…
Eight pitches. That’s all it took to bring the Tigers bats out of their postseason slumber. A leadoff hit by Nishioka, sacrifice bunt by Uemoto, RBI double by Toritani and a 2-run HR by Gomez put the Tigers in the lead — one they would not relinquish all night as they cruised to a 4-1…
Disco’s dead but the man born in the disco era is showing signs of life. Disco went out in a blaze of glory on July 12, 1979, as fans (and haters of the genre) gathered at Comiskey Park in Chicago to burn up records, clothes and more. Kosuke Fukudome was born April 26, 1977, right in the…