I must admit, my fellow Lotte fans, that there was a time in this game when I didn’t think anything good was going to happen. Rakuten rookie starter Fujiwara was on fire. He carried a perfect game into the fifth inning and a no-hitter into the 7th. Lotte was down 2-0 and nothing was hitting …
Tag: Yoshihisa Naruse
Interleague Games 21 & 22: Jinxed in Jingu
Lotte came into the second series with Yakult on a very high note. Having won three in a row, including the 23-2 destruction of Hiroshima and a sweep of Hanshin, expectations were high that the strong play would continue. The first game was a complete debacle for the Marines as the pitching completely imploded, giving …
Interleague Game 15: Afternoon Delight
On a lovely late-spring day in beautiful downtown Yokohama both the Lotte and BayStars offenses put on a show, combining for 25 hits and 16 runs in a 9-7 Lotte victory. Lotte jumped on former Hokkaido starter Ryan Glynn right off the bat. With one out in the top of the first Fukuura and Ohmatsu …
Interleague Game 9: Kanto Battle part 1
Today the Swallows returned to San Juan Capistrano Chiba Marine Stadium for the first time in 2009, and the first of the 4 interleague matches. Lotte returned home in winning fashion after the 2-game sweep at the hands of Hiroshima, beating Tokyo 6-3. I certainly love to watch a Lotte win but it’s always a …
Interleague Game 5 (ver B): Catch a Tiger by His Tail
You must indulge me a bit; I’m a bit miffed I missed this game due to Sunday’s weather. I’m going to recycle some unused pictures from Sunday’s game – the real date – for tonight’s game. I’m just pretending I was there. It would have been a good game to be in the stands for …
Interleague Game 2: Bay Star Supernova
Forgive me if this sounds completely ridiculous – and believe me, I think it does, too – but despite giving up 3 HRs to the worst team in the Central League at home, Naruse Yoshihisa was really, really damn good in tonight’s 4-1 loss to Yokohama. How can that be? Let’s look at the way …
Game Report: Lotte vs Softbank, 5/12
Break out the tasty beer – Lotte is no longer in the cellar (exclusively)! With a tight 2-1 victory over the Hawks tonight and a very weak Pa-league, the Marines have moved into a tie for 5th. A victory tomorrow and they could be in 3rd. How strange is that? On the heels of Karakawa’s …
Game Report: Rakuten vs Lotte, 5/8
Chiba Marine Stadium was awash with downpours tonight as Rakuten rolled into Makuhari for the first of a 3-game weekend set with Lotte. Tonight’s starting pitchers have had as dramatically different fortunes this year as their respective teams. Lotte starter Shimizu Naoyuki comes in with an 0-2 record and a 6.26 ERA, while young Rakuten …
Game Report: Lotte vs Softbank, 5/3
Lotte came into today’s rubber match with Softbank looking to take their second road series of the year. Tasked with the challenge of stopping Softbank was Naruse, who was making only his second start of the year. He’s had middling results in both of his previous starts, with a shaky first and a strong second. …
Game Report: Lotte vs Seibu, 4/25
The 6 game road trip continues for Lotte; today was game 2 versus last year’s Nippon and Asia Series champion Seibu. Naruse was making his second start of the season today. He was a bit shaky in his first start against Rakuten last week, giving up 4ER in 5 innings, but Lotte won that game …