On an unseasonably cool summer night the relief from the recent Lotte troubles showed up at Makuhari (the moon really was that beautiful tonight – that’s an actual picture from the game). Over the last three weeks Lotte has dropped 14 or 16, including 9 in a row to Nippon Ham, but tonight good ol’ …
Tag: Watanabe
Game Report(s): Lotte vs Rakuten, 9 July, Lotte vs Nippon Ham, 10 July
You may have noticed that I am slow in posting when things don’t go well. I admit it; I don’t really like to talk bad about my favorite team. There’s no way around it, though – these last two games were really unpleasant to watch as a fan. Both games unfolded similarly and the results …
Game Report: Lotte vs Seibu, 2 July
This game just ended and man am I stoked! What a nailbiter! In what has got to be in the running for the longest 12-inning Pa-League game in history at 5:43 (by my count), Lotte and Seibu combined for 17 runs and 27 hits, many bases-loaded situations, and piles of drama much like Rocky and …
Interleague Game 23: Three Up, Three Down
Though the blog title typically means an inning where the batters are retired in order, today it also has a deeper, sadder meaning – after three consecutive wins last week, Lotte has now dropped three in a row including today’s 5-2 loss to the hated Giants. Lotte came out with guns blazing as leadoff batter …
Interleague Game 17: Gone Fishing
The Red Hell from Hiroshima stormed into a very windy (even by local standards) Chiba Marine Stadium tonight with an eye towards continuing their dominance over our dear Marines. It was no domination, but it was definitely a victory as Lotte loses again to Hiroshima, 2-0. If you like strikeouts and lost opportunities, this was …
Interleague Game 11: In the beginning….
… there was nothing. In the end, too, apparently. That’s what is left after 12 innings and nearly 4 hours – and still the score is 0-0. Nothing. WARNING: Giants fans may not want to proceed further. This is a pure anti-Giants zone, always. Everyone’s free to read, of course, but keep in mind this …
Interleague Game 4: Dragonslayers
Game 2 of the Chunichi-Lotte series kicked off at the unusual Saturday start time of 13:00 at a hot and sunny Chiba Marine Stadium. Up on the hill was Watanabe Shunsuke, who was looking for redemption after the I-won’t-admit-it-actually-happened 18-0 shellacking at the hands of Seibu, a game which he started and took the loss. …
Game Report: Seibu vs Lotte, 5/15
Lotte returned home on Friday to try to shake the bad taste of Thursday night’s collapse at the hands of Softbank. Mission accomplished! The bats came to life in a huge way tonight – 18 runs on 17 hits, a total destruction of all that is decent and good – as Lotte crushed the hopes …
Game Report: Fighters vs Lotte, 5/6
Today was game 2 of the Fighters/Marines series – wait! I forgot yesterday’s debacle. How could I? Officially it was game 3 of the Fighters vs Marines series at stormy Chiba Marine. Lotte was looking for their first win of the season vs Nippon Ham. Watanabe Shunsuke started the game looking for his first win, …
Game Report: Orix vs Lotte, 4/29
Quick on the heels of last night’s gloomy disappointment was today’s afternoon game, the second with Orix. The pitching matchup featured Watanabe Shunsuke (who was 0-2 on the season to date despite a 2.40 ERA) and Kanako Chihiro (1-2 with a 5.30 ERA). Watanabe has always pitched well at Chiba Marine, so optimism was running …