After last week’s sweep at the hands of the Giants, the club was on a 7-game home losing streak, with its last Koshien win coming June 28 against the BayStars. A six-pack at home against the other lower teams in the Central would be a chance for the Tigers to show their mettle. Summer break was…
On Sunday night in Hiroshima, the scoreboard looked like it needed correction: Where’s Takashi Toritani‘s name? This is the man who has played every inning of all of the past 667 games (4th longest such streak in NPB history) dating back to the first game of the 2012 season. Sure, he has hit in every slot…
The good news is that the Tigers have finished playing in Pacific League parks for another year. The bad news is that they had their worst week of the season and looked terrible in doing so. This series was no different. Other than being able to squeeze out a victory in the middle game. Read…
There seem to be no favorites this year – except the BayStars. There seem to be no weaknesses this year – except the power hitting and the bullpen. There seems to be no preference between home and away games – except that our record at Koshien so far is a pedestrian 10-12-1. So as the…
After a close series against the Dragons, the Tigers needed to continue their momentum at home before hitting the road for 9 straight. They have not played well against the Carp for much of the last two seasons (8-15-2 last year, 3-3 so far this year). Could they keep things tight atop the Central by vanquishing…
Sunday’s loss tie left a bitter taste in the mouths of Hanshin fans. After all, a solid outing by Atsushi Nohmi was wasted in large part to poor fielding and uninspired hitting down the stretch. Coming home for six straight, the Tigers needed to win back their fans and bring their record at Koshien back…
I found a chart online showing Ultimate Zone Ratings for the middle infield positions of all the Central League teams. (It was compiled by Norio Torigoe, who also wrote the book “Hanshin Tigers: Actually Strong” which used sabermetrics to prove its points.) You should first know that Ultimate Zone Rating is a show of a…
Myth: The BayStars have a terrible pitching staff and a dynamite hitting order. The opposite has been true more often than not this season so far. Though the Tigers entered this one 6-2 against the last place team so far, they would need their best pitching and hitting just to stay competitive in this one. Game…
After two embarrassing losses at the hands of the Yakult Swallows, the Tigers needed a big two-game series at home before hitting the road on the weekend. Their opponents thoroughly humiliated them last time at Koshien, and revenge was on their minds. Could they turn the tables on their most bitter rivals? Game 38 –…
The Tigers were looking for just their second three-game winning streak of the year, and needed a strong series to distance themselves from the defending Central League champions, who have shown signs of waking out of their early spring slumber. Game 35 – Friday, 5/6: The last time the Tigers’ starting nine’s average age was…