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Tag: Kazuya Fukuura

Daiei Delight

Yet again I am behind in my blogging. Who knew that going to games, coming home late at night, and working all day would leave you precious little time to blog these games?

For the last week in August Daiei rumbled in to town for a series with our beloved Marines. The Hawks were on a roll, having won 4 in a row and cut the lead of the first place Fighters (reeling from the New Flu) to just a few games. Our Marines had just come off of consecutive 1-0 losses at Seibu, so things weren’t looking too favorable. Naturally, things didn’t go according to schedule, which was GREAT news for our guys!

Tuesday’s game featured Yuta Ohmine versus Daiei’s Takahashi. Ohmine hadn’t had a win since May and had only thrown once with the first team since June, so he was naturally a candidate for throwing a complete game. Of course, many pitchers would be candidates for throwing a complete game if they got 10 runs of support – Lotte takes game one of the series with Softbank, 10-5!

Ohmine & co celebrate the win

As you are a smart reader and can tell by the score, this wasn’t a pitcher’s duel, and in fact Ohmine was pretty shaky early and very, very shaky late but he had enough in the tank to go the distance.

Daiei got on the board first with an RBI single in the top of the first by former Lotte 2B Ortiz. Lotte came right back on the very first pitch of the bottom of the first with a leadoff HR from Tsuyoshi. Very nice. A walk by Ohmatsu and a double by the slumping Iguchi make it 2-1 Lotte after 2.

Daiei stormed back in the second with an RBI single by Tanoue, yet Lotte came right back in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff jack by Satozaki. 3-2 Lotte!

Batozaki Returns! (copyright Deanna @ Marinerds)

I went to this game with my friend Toshi – it was his first game at Chiba Marine. I was a bit worried due to the erratic nature of Lotte’s play over the past, oh, 5 months but on this night the offense put on a show.

Sato is sotked

The Marines cracked this one open in the 4th – a bases-loaded double by Tsuyoshi and a 2-RBI single by Hayasaka score 4 runs and run the score to 7-2. Says Toshi, “Wow, this is great!” Yeah, you should have come for some of the other recent games, like most of them since June.

Tsuyoshi scores on Hayasaka’s 4th inning single

In the 5th things got ludicrous – a single by Fukuura scores one and a triple by Imae clears the bases – three more in, 10-2. There is joy in the stands, indeed.

Meanwhile, Ohmine went on cruise control after the early runs, scattering a few hits but letting Softbank get nothing going. That changed in the 9th when he basically fell apart after recording two quick outs. To consecutive Hawks batters he gave up single, double, double, single before finally getting the last out of the game on a pop. It wasn’t a pretty finish – 3 runs with one out to go – but it was good enough to wrap up the victory. How nice to see him in the win column again! Now if we could just get Karakawa win…

Wednesday provided one of the most bizarre games I can think of. Lotte brought only 27 men to the plate, only recorded a single hit, yet won this one 2-1. How odd!

Hiroyuki Kobayashi pitched 8 strong innings, only giving up a solo HR to Akashi in the 6th, to lead Lotte to a 2-1 victory. Wait a minute – 2-1? How do we score 2 runs on one hit with only 27 baserunners? Simple, in the 4th inning Takehara drew a one-out walk, and Imae blasted a dinger to left to score 2. Tsuyoshi walked to lead off the game but was thrown out trying to steal, and Hayasaka drew a walk in the 6th. That’s it!

The pitching staff did the rest – it’s like the dead opposite of Saturday and Sunday’s games versus Seibu where the Marines got plenty of men on but couldn’t bring anyone home. It’s about as efficient a win as could be had, and it guaranteed the series win. Fighters fans rejoiced at the Daiei loss as they pulled further in front of the Pacific League, and Lotte keeps their distance over last place Orix. Since a playoff chance is very unlikely at this point, we take the small victories.

August 26, 2009
Live Blog: Lotte vs Seibu, 22 August

Swiped from skyscrapercity.com forums

This blog should be renamed “We Love Marines, but We’ve Spent Almost no Time at Home Lately and Haven’t Had a Chance to Blog in Ages.” Catchy, no?

In honor of a baseball watchin’ weekend and to make up for my busy work week-induced silence, it’s live blog time! Today is Lotte on the road in Tokorozawa to face Seibu. Lotte won a run festival last night 12-7 (more to come on that later), so a win today wins the series. No matter how bad the season goes (and it’s been pretty bad as of late) it always feels great to beat up on Seibu, especially on the road.

Today’s matchup brings Ono to the hill to face Kishi. Ono had a pretty rough outing last Friday in Sendai, but he should bounce back with a good performance today. Catching Ono today is Hashimoto (batting 5th), and the rest of the lineup looks is Fukuura at first (batting 7th), Hayasaka at second (batting 2nd), Tsuyoshi at short (leadoff), Heiuchi at third (batting 9th). The outfield is Ohmatsu in left (4th), Hayakawa in center (8th), and Saburo in right (3rd). Benny gets the start at the DH.

First Inning
Lotte gets runners on the corners via a leadoff walk by Tsuyoshi, a steal, a sac bunt, and another walk by Saburo. Ohmatsu hits a shallow pop that’s unable to score a run for the second out and Hashimoto lines out to a diving Bocachica in left to end the inning.

Ono is the model of efficiency in the bottom of the inning, inducing Kataoka, Hara, and Kuriyama into ground-outs on a total of 7 pitches. Nice – 0-0 after one.

Second Inning
Benny grounds out to lead off the inning. Fukuura next hits a nice single to left center. Haykawa grounds to first – Ishii throws out Fukuura at second but the swift Hayakawa beats out the throw to first. It’s all moot, though, as Heiuchi strikes out to end the inning.

Ono is just as good in the second as the first – he induces Nakajima and Uemoto into quick ground-outs and strikes out GG Sato. He takes a grand total of 10 pitches to do it this time. Very nice – still 0-0. Viewers at home are also treated to a view of recently-retired Kiyohara (on hand for the opening pitch) in a wife-beater in the press box. We didn’t need that one, guys.

Third Inning
A bizarre bit of baseball in the top of the inning. Tsuyoshi smacks one off of Kishi’s shin and hoofs it to first for an infield single. Kishi is injured but stays on. A few pitches later Tsuyoshi takes off to steal – it looks like Kishi throws a pitchout but Ginjiro stays in his crouch and has to jump for the ball. He snags it and whips it to second – for some unknown reason Tsuyoshi has decided to stop running before reaching the bag. The throw is dropped, though, so he jogs into second with a standing steal. I suspect Bobby’s not going to be too happy with that one.

Hayasaka strikes out, Saburo walks again, and Ohmatsu hits a deep fly that reaches the warning track but no further. Hashimoto is again faced with a two-out, runners on the corners situation and again he gets an out, this time a fly to center.

Seibu gets some baserunners off Ono in the bottom of the 3rd. Ishii leads off with a single and Ginjiro sacrifices him to second. Bocachica pops out to left and Ono pops Kataoka to put runners on second and first with two out. How long has Kataoka been using Princess Princess as intro music, anyway? It’s stuck in my head now, grr.

Ono gets Hara to fly out to Hayakawa for the third out so no damage is done. A grand total of 14 pitches for all of that, too – 0-0 after three.

Fourth Inning
Benny takes a swing at strike three to lead off the fourth, and Fukuura grounds to Ishii for out two. Hayakawa grounds to second to end the Lotte fourth.

Kuriyama knocks a single to left while leading off the Seibu fourth, but he’s doubled off when Nakajima lines Ono’s first pitch right back at him. Ono makes a nice reflex snag and lobs it to Fukuura – easy peasy DP! Uemoto grounds out to Hayasaka to end the Seibu fourth, and the game cruises into the fifth still tied, 0-0.

Fifth Inning
Kishi has really got the car going going downhill now. A flyout by Heiuchi and strikeouts of Tsuyoshi and Hayasaka send Lotte down in order.

Ono is still looking nice himself – grounder, grounder, grounder and the Lions go down in order as well. Into the 6th – still a scoreless tie.

Sixth Inning
More of the same, really – Saburo lines out to left, Ohmatsu takes ball four. He tries to steal second, but is thrown out as Hashimoto strikes out. Three quick outs.

Ono also gets a quick inning, retiring Bocachica, Kataoka, and Hara in order. Still no score after 6.

Lucky 7
So close, yet… Benny draws a leadoff walk, and after a Fukuura pop out Hayakawa almost ends the inning with an infield grounder. Benny is out at second but Hayakawa beats the throw to first. Hayakawa takes off running and Heiuchi singles, but Hayakawa doesn’t see him single, rounds second and stops between second and third. Belatedly he rushes back to second and is safe. Tsuyoshi smashes a ball very deep – I thought it was gone – but GG Sato makes a great catch while jumping into the right field fence. A nice scoring chance, but no runs.

Ono continues his nice game. He gets Kuriyama to pop out to Hayakawa. Kuriyama hits a broken bat single to center, and Uemoto grounds one to Fukuura. He bobbles the ball and can’t get 2, but he makes the easy play at first. GG Sato hits an easy grounder to Heiuchi to account for the third out. 0-0, 3 hits for both teams, and into the late innings. Nice and close- the best kind of game.

Eighth Inning
The speedy Hayasaka gets on with a grounder up the middle to get the Lotte 8th started. Saburo rides one deep and high – but too high, as it’s reeled in in deep center. Ohmatsu pops to Ginjiro, and Hayasaka swipes second. The Lotte ouendan get “Skinhead Runnin’” going as Hashimoto draws a two-out walk. Benny strikes out on four pitches to end the nice scoring chance, though.

Turnabout is indeed fair play, though. Ishii flies out to very deep center to start the Seibu eighth, and Ginjiro hits a very deep ball off the right center fence, ending up on second. Ono walks Bocachica but gets Kataoka to ground to Heiuchi. Heiuchi steps on third, fires to first, double play! Threat over, and it’s still tied at 0-0 heading to the 9th.

Ninth Inning
Lotte manages a two-out baserunner as Heiuchi draws a walk but nothing doing, scoring wise. It’s up to Ono’s pitching and good defense now to send it to extra innings.

9 pitches into Hara’s leadoff at-bat Ono plunks him on the hands. It’s pretty crappy, though, as Hara moved his hands in a position to get plunked. Hardly seems like a good call and Bobby comes out to complain, but it stands.

Kuriyama drops a sac bunt, Ono fields it and whips it to Tsuyoshi at second. The throw is offline, though, and Tsuyoshi can’t reel it in. Hara keeps on running to third. No outs.

Ono intentionally walks Nakajima to load the bases with nobody out. Bobby goes to the pen – in comes Sikorski in a tough, tough spot. Can he nail it down and send it to extra innings?

No. It’s a big bouncing grounder to Fukuura. He’s got no choice but to go home – it’s a slow grounder though and Hara is in easily. A tight 1-0 loss for Lotte. I feel bad for Ono, it was as good of a performance as one would hope for but Lotte couldn’t plate anyone to give him support. I don’t think the 9th should have unfolded the way it did, though – I really don’t think Hara should have been awarded first, and if he’s not awarded first Kuriyama’s not bunting, and there’s no error…. But poor calls are an unfortunate part of the game.

So the series goes to the rubber game tomorrow. I’ll be in the Lotte gaiya helping Lotte on to a series win!

August 22, 2009
Live Blog: Lotte vs Orix, 9 August

I had made plans to go to Lotte Urawa today for the ni-gun game but changed my mind this morning. Instead, I’ll be blogging the Lotte-Orix tilt as it happens. Orix took the first game of the series on Friday 5-1, and Lotte evened the series with a big 9th inning on Saturday to win 6-2. It was the first win of the season vs Orix on the road, so a win today for the first series win vs Orix would be quite nice, indeed.

Komatsu takes the hill for Orix against Lotte’s Karakawa.

First inning: After two quick outs by Tsuyoshi and Fukuura, Saburo knocks a double. Ohmatsu hits a clutch single to center to bring him home, 1-0 Lotte! Iguchi walked to make it runners on first and second but Hashimoto pops to short to end the inning. Where would the team be without Ohmatsu’s contributions over the last few months?

Orix came right back though, as Ohbiki laces a triple to left that couldn’t be played by Burnham Jr. Cabrera golfs a ball way out of the zone in to left to score Ohbiki – a 1-1 game. Karakawa gets Rhodes and Fernandez swinging to keep the score tied.

Second inning: Benny leads off with a single, and Burnham Jr (getting the start in left) bunts him to second. Heiuchi (starting at third) watches strike three go by, and Tsuyoshi swings at ball four on a 2-3 count for out three.

In the Orix second, Hamanaka leads off with a double off the wall in left and Ohmura hits a shallow pop that drops between Iguchi and Saburo for a hit. Hamanaka is running on the play and scores easily from second – 2-1 Orix.

Third inning: Fly outs by Fukuura, Saburo, and Ohmtasu make for a 1-2-3 inning.

Ohbiki leads off the Orix third with a double to the right field gap. Cabrera pops out to Fukuura and Karakawa walks Rhodes to put men on first and second with one out. Karakawa gets Fernandez and Hamanaka looking to shut down the Orix scoring chance. That’s 5 K’s in 3 innings for Karakawa.

Fourth inning: Another 1-2-3 for Lotte as Iguchi hits a deepy fly to center that’s reeled in by Sakaguchi. Hashimoto and Benny both ground out to end the inning.

With one out Orix’s Ohmura reaches on an error by Tsuyoshi. Maeda bunts him to second and Sakaguchi lines out to center to end the inning. Score stays at 2-1 Orix.

Fifth inning: 1-2-3 yet again for Lotte; this time a fly by Burnham Jr, a swinging K by Heiuchi, and a pop by Tsuyoshi.

For Orix, Ohbiki flies out to Ohmtasu in right, Cabrera grounds out to Heiuchi, and Tsuyoshi snares a liner from Rhodes to send the lineup down in order.

Sixth inning: A frustrating pattern is emerging as Komatsu gets yet another 1-2-3 inning. That’s 15 in a row retired by Komatsu after the second inning single by Benny…

Fernandez pops out to Hashimoto, and Karakawa gets Hamanaka and Ikki swinging for his 6th and 7th Ks of the day. Still 2-1.

Lucky Seven: Iguchi hits a deep ball that’s also very very high – an out at the left field fence. Hashimoto and Benny go down immediately after for the second and third outs.

Karakawa gets Ohmura looking to start the Orix seventh, and after Maeda pops out to Hashimoto Sakaguchi singles to right. Karakawa picks him off to end the inning and keep it at 2-1.

Eighth inning: Another 1-2-3 for Lotte. That’s 21 in a row by Komatsu. Ugh.

Uchi comes in for Karakawa in the 8th. That’s a 122-pitch, 8-K, 6-hit day for Karakawa, with only two earned. The way the Lotte offense is looking right now that doesn’t look like it will be good enough. Uchi does his job very well, striking out Ohbiki to lead off the frame, inducing Cabrera to ground out to Nemoto (who replaced Heiuchi in the 8th), and getting Tuffy to pop out to end the inning.

Ninth inning: Does Lotte have another 9th inning rally at the ready? Komatsu is still on the hill (unsurprisingly) throwing that <100km curve that's almost an Eephus. He gets Fukuura to ground out for his 22nd out in a row - deadly. Saburo breaks up the string with a one-out bloop single to center - similar to Ohmura's RBI single in the second. Hayasaka pinch runs for Saburo as Ohmatsu comes to the plate. Ohmatsu absolutely destroys a 0-1 Komatsu pitch! It’s deeeep and loooong gone! No doubt about that!!! Lotte DOES have another 9th inning rally – from down 1-2 and stymied by great pitching to suddenly up 3-2!

Iguchi barely misses on a well-hit liner down the left field line and ends up striking out. Hashimoto draws a two-out walk, and Benny grounds out to second. The damage is done, and Lotte goes to the bottom of the 9th with a 1-run lead and a great chance for a series win!

Sikorski’s in to close it out and while he’s had his ups-and-downs as a closer he’s been really good his last few apperances – 4 IP in his last 3 with only one hit allowed and no runs.

He induces Fernandez to ground out to second for the first out, and catches the outside corner with Hamanaka at the plate for a called strike three. Kitagawa pinch hits for Kawasaki (who replaced Ikki at second) – he hits the first pitch deep to center, but right at Saburo who gloves it. Game, set! A 3-2 come from behind Lotte win!

Lotte takes the series 2-1, and splits the road trip 3-3. That’s a good result to see especially given the road problems for Lotte this year. Lotte is 6-3 in their last 9 and could be 8 back of third at the end of today’s play.

As I mentioned earlier this post Ohmatsu has been on an absolute tear as of late. In his last 5 games he has 3 HR, 8 hits, and 12 RBI. It’s a great time for him to go on a rampage as Lotte needs every bit of help they can get to claw back into the Pa-league race. Up next is a mid-week set with Seibu – let’s hope for another home sweep!

August 9, 2009
A Ham-Free Weekend, Part 2

‘Okane de kaenai kachi ga aru’

The Ham-Free Weekend rolled on in utterly brilliant and heart-stopping fashion as both Saturday and Sunday’s games went all the way to the last frames as the visiting Golden Eagles of Rakuten battled our beloved Chiba Lotte Marines. In both games Lotte overcame adversity and missed opportunities only to make the game-winning play. On Saturday Lotte bested Rakuten 5-4 on an 8th-inning double by Fukuura after Rakuten had rallied to tie in the top of the 8th, and on Sunday a heated pitchers’ duel went to 11 innings with backup utility-man Hayasaka delivering a Sayonara Single with the bases loaded to give Lotte a 2-1 victory and their first three-game sweep of the year.

The first sweep of the year deserves some big fireworks

Lotte got ahead early on Saturday with a triple by Hayasaka to lead off the game and a sac fly by Saburo to bring him home. Lotte added three more runs to the lead in the third inning courtesy of a bases-loaded double by Takehara – 4-0 Lotte.

Lotte starter Ono – arguably the most consistent starter on the year for the Marines – kept Rakuten in check throughout the first seven innings, allowing but 5 hits and a single run to keep the lead at 4-1. Things got a bit out of hand in the 8th, though, as Heiuchi flubbed a ball with one out to allow Rick Short to reach, and Ono issued a walk to Watanabe to put two men on. Kawasaki came in to relieve Ono, and on his second pitch gave up a game-tying 3 run shot to Miyade. Eeek. After Teppei doubled next Uchi took over for Kawasaki and shut things down to keep the game tied.

In the Lotte 8th, Benny drew a one-out walk, and Satozaki singled to move Benny to third. Fukuura pinch-hit for Burnham Jr and nailed a 2-2 pitch for a tie-breaking double! 5-4 Lotte.

Sikorski came in to close out the 9th, and after a Hayasaka error allowed Kusano to reach he got Seguinol to ground into a DP, and then Kenshi to ground out to Fukuura to wrap up the win! A nice, tight, 5-4 victory for our Marines.

The series win was assured but of course everybody wanted more – so it was reassuring to see the starter for Sunday’s game announced, the Baby-Faced Killer himself, Karakawa.

Face it; he’s living the charmed life

The newly-minted star of Keisei Bus ads and mover of uniform, t-shirt, and towels (ahem! including to yours truly) hadn’t been nearly as effective as he was earlier in the season – he hasn’t had a win since May – but he always pitches with guts and that steely look that says he’s not taking any crap. On Sunday, he most definitely wasn’t taking anything from anyone as he went 9 strong innings, allowing many baserunners but only one to score while throwing 153 pitches, getting in and out of tight jams, and generally refusing to blink. It took huge stones to come out with a performance like that.

Things were a bit rough for Karakawa in the first, as leadoff batter Watanabe singled. Rakuten played small-ball to perfection with a sacrifice by former Marine Kosaka and Watanabe stole third to set up a sac fly by Teppei – a quick 1-0 Rakuten lead.

Lotte had their early chances as well as they loaded the bases in the bottom of the second with only one out, but Hori grounded into a DP to end the scoring chance.

The next scoring chance was also almost wasted. Hayasaka led of the third with a single to center, and Tanaka Masahiko dropped a sac bunt. Rakuten catcher Shima ran into Tanaka fielding the bunt and winged the ball past first, allowing Hayasaka to score all the way from first on a two-base error.

Hayasaka gets the third inning rally started

But there was a discussion between the umps, eventually ruling that Tanaka interfered with Shima to negate the run. Erg. Iguchi flied to right to make it two outs, but with Saburo at the plate and two strikes Hayasaka swiped second. Saburo, grateful for the runner in scoring position, lined a single to left, and the speedy Hayasaka finally came home for good. The game was now tied at 1-1!

Saburo ties the game with a timely hit in the third

That’s where things stood for a long time – though the middle and late innings were hardly free from controversy and tension. Temperatures started to rise with the second at-bat for Rakuten’s Linden, as he took exception to Karakawa’s brush-back pitches (and Satozaki’s call of them). After strike two Karakawa brushed him back again and Linden jawed at Satozaki – you could tell he was yelling “That’s twice!” I said to nobody in particular “Karakawa’s totally in his head now”, and sure enough the next pitch got Linden swinging for strike three. Linden quite petulantly tossed his bat and helmet as if that would erase the stink of his second consecutive K.

Things boiled over during Linden’s third at-bat as he took more exception to Karakawa’s brush-back pitches. After the first one he confronted Satozaki, benches cleared, much shoving ensued, and it took quite a while for things to get settled down. It looked like there might actually be punches thrown as things were really heated at the plate.

Linden, how’s that 0-5 with 3K’s feel?

When play resumed, the Baby-Faced Killer re-took the hill, Sphinx-like as ever. You know, I know, and Linden sure knew what was coming next – yup, fastball across the letters. The out pitch was set up, and Karakawa got Linden to chase the low outside ball for strike three, still very much in Linden’s head.

How about the sweep?

Both Karakawa and Rakuten starter Hasebe (and Eangles reliever Fukumori) kept the opposing offenses in check for the next few innings. Incidentally, the 4th Karakawa-Linden battle played out with outside-outside-outside-outside pitches, Linden hacking at two of them for a 2-2 count. Time for some more chin music! Yup, another fastball inside, leading Linden to ground out on the subsequent full count.

Karakawa worked himself into a real jam in the 9th with singles by Kusano and Nakamura with one out, but Satozaki relieved some of the pressure by gunning down a running Nakamura at second to make it two outs. Kenshi walked to put two runners back on, but Karakawa mowed down Watanabe for his 153rd pitch of the game and the third out of the 9th.

Fast forward to the 11th. Rakuten has got nothing going in extra innings thanks to great pitching by Sikorski out of the pen, and in the bottom of the inning Lotte has recorded two quick outs. Hayakawa hacked off 8 straight pitches on a full count before finally drawing a walk. Hayakawa stole second as backup catcher Fujii fumbled the ball, allowing Hayakawa to advance to third. Satozaki was at the plate, and the Rakuten pen offered some retaliation for Karakawa’s brush-backs by knocking Sato completely on his back.

Satozaki gets knocked back in the 11th

Rakuten decides to put him on intentionally after that, and Arime is brought in to pitch to the pinch-hitting Fukuura. The first pitch from Arime is straight at Fukuura’s head, nailing him solidly in the shoulder. The umps convene, and Arime is rightfully ejected from the game, despite his cap-tipping to indicate he didn’t mean it (!).

Fukuura is popped in the 11th inning

Koyama is brought in instead as Hayasaka comes to the plate. On a 1-1 count Hayasaka smacks one into right for a Sayonara Single! 2-1 Lotte! The team rushes the field to celebrate with the over-the-moon Hayasaka.

The game-winner from Sunday’s hero

What a great series!

After the horrible July and all the on-and-off the field distractions Lotte showed real heart to fight and keep themselves in position to make a run at the playoffs. They could have folded after the recent bad luck but instead they fought on.

Now it’s on to Fukuoka to take on the Hawks on Tuesday. A win on Tuesday gives the team the first 4-game win streak of the year, something that’s WAY overdue!

August 2, 2009
Over the Rainbow

And on the third day of the series the skies shone golden, and the men of Lotte fought doggedly for every run, contested every out, and ultimately – rightfully – triumphed over the Hawks 3-1.

Actually, the weather at the start and the end of the game wasn’t so hot. The first inning opened gray and dingy, super muggy. The wind blew in from dead center – not exactly unusual at Chiba Marine – but the ferocity was something else. All day long balls swirled in the gale, pop-ups to short drifted into the stands, and plastic bags meandered across the outfield. In the middle, though – eh, I get ahead of myself.

Ono Shingo took on the challenge of avenging yesterday’s heart-breaker vs Daiei’s Houlton. In the first Ono took care of business, inducing a leadoff ground-out by Honda. Kawasaki drew a walk and was gunned down by Satozaki trying to steal second. Ortiz grounded out to end the inning as Lotte came to the plate.

The flags on the scoreboard stood straight pointing in as Tsuyoshi came to the plate in the bottom of the inning. He’s used to these sorts of conditions though, and when he saw a fat first pitch from Houlton he demolished it, sending it clear over the left center fence! Just like that, 1-0 Lotte.

Ono coaxed another 1-2-3 inning out of the Hawks bats in the 2nd, and Lotte came to bat in the bottom of the second looking to add to their lead. Takehara drew a one-out walk, and after a Satozaki strikeout Fukuura belted a 2-2 pitch deep into the right field stands! Only his second homer of the season, and it gives the Marines an early 3-0 lead!

Oh, I think he likes it – as he should

Everybody else likes it, too

Ono kept making his pitches in the third and fourth – he didn’t allow a hit in the first four innings. Houlton, on the other hand, exacted the petty revenge of the classless and beaten by beaning Tsuyoshi in the back in the top of the third. It was obvious retaliation for Tsuyoshi’s HR and Houlton didn’t try to hide it. He didn’t even tip his cap. Tsuyoshi was furious, throwing his bat and staring down Houlton as he walked to first.

Tsuyoshi takes a cheap one

Perhaps Houlton would be better served by spending more time not giving up first pitch homers so he wouldn’t need to resort to cheap tactics? Anyway, Tsuyoshi tried to steal on the first pitch but was beat to the bag by Kawasaki’s tag.

Tsuyoshi is nipped by Kawasaki’s tag

In the 5th Daiei got their first hit off Ono, a single by Kokubo. Ono struck out Tamura, but the next batter Hasegawa ripped a double off the center field fence. Saburo hustled to field the ball and fired it into Tsuyoshi. Kokubo made the turn at third and kept on to home as Tsuyoshi whirled and made a perfect relay. Meat. Sato applied the tag, and Lotte kept their 3-0 lead.

Satozaki tags out an opponent at home for the second day in a row

Tanoue singled next and Hasegawa came home; shutout over, 3-1 Lotte.

In the top of the 6th the winds abated somewhat, the clouds parted, and the sun said it’s goodbyes for the evening. It was a lovely golden night in Chiba. Fans and players were all treated to a gorgeous view – honeyed skies over first base; a smiling rainbow over third. Players warming up, umps, everyone admired the moment.

There’s a victory waiting in the pot of gold

After two quick ground-outs Ono got a bit rattled, giving up three consecutive singles to juice the bases. Bobby took no chances and called for the pen, bringing in Matsumoto Kodai. Matsumoto? Hashimoto yesterday, Matsumoto today – I had no idea either were back at Ichi-gun. I need to pay more attention to the transactions list. Matsumoto stepped right into the pressure cooker and did what he needed to do – inducing Hasegawa into a ground out and stopping the Hawks scoring chance cold.

Matsumoto delivers the inning-saving pitch

The Lotte offense got nothing going the rest of the way but hey, that’s fine. They took care of business early on and asked the pitching staff to hold on to that lead, please. The pitching staff was totally in control as well after Matsumoto’s 6th. Uchi came in for the 7th, retired Tanoue and gave up a walk to Muramatsu. Kawasaki took over for Uchi and shut the door on the 7th and the 8th.

Kawasaki’s so good he can’t be captured by modern photo technology

Sikorski came in to close out the 9th, and after a meaningless leadoff walk to Kokubo he took care of the rest of the side in order. A lovely 3-1 Lotte win, and a nice series win against the first place Hawks.

Lotte gets no Monday break – for the 20 July Marine Day holiday the team travels back to Sapporo for a three game set with Nippon Ham. Let’s hope they sweep them back as revenge for last weekend’s series!

July 19, 2009
Game Report: Softbank vs Lotte, 7/18

A very intriguing game this evening. It was at times one of the worst games I’ve ever watched, at times one of the most exciting games I’ve watched, but it is in the end an 8-6 loss to the visiting Hawks.

Karakawa was on the hill tonight for Lotte, and he pitched three perfect innings. Unfortunately, he pitched those three perfect innings after three horrible innings. In the first Kawasaki tripled past a diving Fukuura and Jose Ortiz brought him home with a double. 1-0 Hawks.

Karakawa wonders why this foreign dude is shooting off a tripod in the stands

Daiei would score another run in the 2nd and two more in the 3rd to make it 4-0 after 3 innings. In those three innings Karakawa yielded 8 hits, 2 HBP and a walk for those 4 runs. To be fair, one of the runs in the third came off a Tsuyoshi error, but Karakawa was giving up plenty without any defensive miscues. That makes shaky starts 3 out of his last 4 outings, though after the first three innings he was back to his old self, shutting down the side in order in the 4th, 5th and 6th.

Meanwhile the Lotte offense couldn’t do anything. The Marines actually loaded the bases in the first without a hit thanks to 3 walks by Daiei starter Ohba, but due to a lack of hits (and no more walks) they were unable to score. The only early hit for Lotte came off a 3rd inning double by Tsuyoshi, though nothing would come of it. The next hit came way in the 7th off a single by Benny.

The fans were truly listless after the early innings. I actually saw a few people leave in the 7th as it was really that bad to watch. Perhaps fittingly, NTT Flets had some sort of promotion going on and had their promotional character come out to push the ceremonial plunger to start the post-5th inning fireworks, but the suit was so ungainly the character couldn’t waddle to the field quickly enough, so Mar-kun had to bring the plunger closer. It was that sort of evening.

Hashire, character-kun!

Karakawa left after the 6th for little-seen reliever Hashimoto Kentaro. It was only the second appearance of the year for Hashimoto, and he was quite entertaining to watch. He jittered around the mound full of energy, speeding through his pitches. With two outs he barely missed on a few closeout pitches to Kokubo, and you could see he was quite frustrated. He finally put one out over the plate and Kokubo smashed it just inside the left field foul pole to make it 5-0.

Uchi winds up in the 8th

Uchi took over for the 8th inning, and it was in the 8th where the game went from awful to awesome. Uchi gave up a leadoff walk to Morimoto, who later swiped second. Uchi mowed down Tanoue and Honda with strikeouts but with two outs Kawasaki singled in front of Ohmatsu; Morimoto got the signal to round third and head for home. Ohmatsu charged the ball aggressively, picked it, and fired it to the waiting Satozaki. Morimoto raced around Satozaki and got his hand on home, but Sato had already applied the tag. Out at the plate, and another run saved to keep it at 5-0!

Morimoto gets his hand on the plate, but it’s too late – Sato tagged him

The ump gets the call right

NOW we’re all fired up! Here comes the bottom of the 8th, can Lotte do something with their second life?

It doesn’t start well. Ohba strikes out Imae to start the 8th, but Iguchi draws a walk next. Ohmatsu is up next – he pounces on a 1-1 offering from Ohba and beats it into the right field stands! Only the third hit of the game, but what a huge hit! 5-2 Hawks.

Ohba is pulled for Falkenborg; he gets Saburo to chase strike three. Two outs now; Satozaki at the plate. On a 1-1 pitch he’s swinging – connecting – it’s going – gone! Into center left it goes, and the hopeless, awful game is now a very intriguing 5-3.

Go on and throw that bat, Sato – it’s long, long gone

It’s bedlam in the stands. It’s Saturday night and we fans wanted some action, some fight, some drama and now we were getting all we could handle. The air was electric. Fukuura is up next – and he singles to keep the rally alive! Hayasaka comes in to pinch run, and Benny is back at the plate. He singles again! Hayasaka races to third, Hayakawa pinch runs for Benny, we fans are so hyped up we’re about ready to charge the field. Up comes Burnham Jr – he got the start tonight after his hero performance on Friday, but so far he hasn’t done anything. How will he do with the game on the line?

He destroys a 2-2 pitch! It’s heading out on a line, but just misses going out off the top of the center left fence! Hayasaka comes in, Hayakawa streaks in from first, Burnham Jr races like a madman all the way to third! From the awful pits of a 5-0 deficit Lotte has stunningly climbed all the way back to tie! 5-5 in the bottom of the 8th. Oh, my!! Hashimoto pops out to end the inning but man! Who would have believed it?

I make a quick dash to the concourse between innings as Itoh comes in to hold down the fort and give the surging Lotte offense a chance to win it in the bottom of the 9th. He quickly induces a ground out by Ortiz but just as I am running back to my seat Matsunaka takes him deep, deep. Oh no. 6-5 Hawks… Some fans I was recently high-fiving stop me and say “Oh my God!!!” I say “Shinjirarenai!” “So so so!” Kokubo doubles next and Itoh is gone, in comes Kawasaki to stop the bleeding. His second pitch to Muramatsu is taken into right for a triple, Kokubo comes home to score. 7-5 Hawks. What is happening? The next batter, Hasegawa, lays down a perfect squeeze and Muramatsu streaks home, 8-5 Hawks.

Like the air coming out of a balloon, I tell you.

To the bottom of the 9th we go. We still have a chance – after the 8th everybody knows there’s always a chance, but in strolls Mahara. He comes in with 16 saves on the year and he’s always tough. Imae takes his first pitch into center, though! Another rally begins?

Imae runs out his 9th inning single

Iguchi steps to the plate against his old team with the chance to do some real damage – and he does! A double to center, Imae comes home, the gap is closed to 8-6!

Mahara takes stock of his life on the mound, thinks deeply, and remembers he’s one of the best closers in the game. He gets Ohmatsu, Saburo, and Satozaki swinging to close it out and hand Lotte the loss.

It’s truly disappointing the bullpen couldn’t hold it together after the thrilling comeback but at least the ending was so exciting. It’s a tough matchup on Sunday for the rubber game as Houlton takes the hill for Daiei against Ono for Lotte. Ono got beat up a bit last Sunday vs Nippon Ham but was stellar prior – I’m sure he’ll give Lotte a great chance to win on Sunday!

July 18, 2009
Game Report: Lotte vs Orix, 14 July

From Wikimedia Commons

The 9 game road trip rambles on, and on Tuesday Lotte came to Kyocera Dome to exact some revenge for the current 4-game losing streak and 2-7 record vs Orix this season. Lotte starter Shimizu went 9 very strong innings, but unfortunately the game went 10. Lotte scored a run in the top of the 10th but Orix countered with two in the bottom to hand the Marines a loss in the first game of the series 3-2 and extending the losing streak to 5.

This game was a pitcher’s duel all the way, with Shimizu and Orix starter Kaneko going toe-to-toe for 9 innings, only for both bullpens to turn it into a run fest in extra innings. Lotte scored the first run of the game in the top of the second as Fukuura singled in Ohmtasu (who led off the inning with a double) to make it 1-0. Lotte got two men on in both the 3rd and 5th innings but Kaneko prevented anyone else from scoring, striking out 9 in the process.

Shimizu was just as strong. He scattered 7 hits over his 9 innings of work allowing only a single run in the 6th on a single by Cabrera. Neither team mounted a significant scoring threat after that, so tied at 1-1 the game went to the 10th.

In the 10th, with Takehara on second and Tsuyoshi at first Iguchi singles to left off Orix reliever Okubo – Takehara scores, Lotte takes a 2-1 lead!

Sikorski takes over for Shimizu in the bottom of the inning and… um… 2 runs allowed… Oh, no, a 3-2 loss. So close to breaking the losing streak but instead it stretches to 5 games.

Hmm. I think I will leave it at that.

July 14, 2009
Interleague Game 24: Ending on a Good Note

After yesterday’s loss to the evil Kyojin I predicted a big Lotte win for today. Whaddya know, I got one right! Today, Lotte pounded out 9 runs on 11 hits – with 4 homers, too – as they won the last game of Interleague 2009 in the Tokyo Dome, 9-4.

Around this time I would normally insert the first of several pics I took during the game, as surely I wouldn’t miss a big road game just down the road. I had tickets for the Lotte gaiya and I, um, … lost them. How lame. So, I got to enjoy the action from the comfort of my own living room. It feels a bit odd not inserting piles of pics, but I’ll soldier on.

Lotte took the lead right off the bat today. Tsuyoshi returned to the starting lineup for the first time in weeks, and celebrated his return by giving a great souvenir to the Giants fans in right in the form of a solo shot on the third pitch of the game. 1-0 Lotte.

Yomiuri got the run right back in the bottom of the 1st thanks to a sac fly by Ramirez off Lotte starter Shimizu.

Shimizu pitched quite well today, for that was the only run he would give up in 7 innings of work. He also got on the board offensively – more on that in a minute.

Yomiuri starter Utsumi was also effective – for a while. Lotte untied the score in the 6th inning with a big blast by (La La La La) Takehara into the very appreciative Lotte fans. I should have been there to catch it! 2-1 Lotte.

In the 7th, Lotte added to their lead. Saburo singled to lead off, but was caught stealing on a botched hit-and-run. Imae singled to center, and Shimizu helped his own cause with a single into right. Tsuyoshi walked to load them up for Takehara. He did what needed to be done, scoring two with a bloop double to center to make it 4-1 Lotte.

It wasn’t enough runs to sate the Lotte bats, though. In the 8th more runs would come – first a lead off HR by Iguchi. Fukuura pinch hit for Hori and drew a walk, bringing Imae to the plate. Like a hungry man at a buffet he cleared off everything in sight with a 2 run jack of his own to left – 7-1 Lotte.

Yomuiri tried to make a game of it in the bottom of the 8th, though everyone (including the players, I’m sure) knew there was no hope. Itoh came in to relieve Shimizu and gave up a 2 run HR to Kamei, and then a solo HR to Abe to allow Yomiuri to get to 7-4.

In the 9th, Lotte put the game out of reach. Tsuyoshi smacked a double off the right field wall, and after Ohmatsu was cowardly plunked Iguchi got revenge with a 2-run double right below the Lotte ouendan in left. It was now 9-4, and with Sikorski coming in to finish the 9th, the game was over.

Lotte ended up the interleague play on a very strong note. Let’s hope the momentum carries over to next weekend’s 3 game set with Nippon Ham in Chiba!

June 21, 2009
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 Hayasaka smacked the first pitch of the game from Yomiuri’s Greisinger into left. The next batter, Fukuura, also singled and the fans smelled blood. Fly outs by Ohmatsu, Iguchi, and Satosaki ended the Lotte scoring chance, though. Iguchi in particular hit a very deep ball that would have gone out if just a wee bit flatter.

Yomiuri wasted no chances in their half of the first. Lotte starter Watanabe was beat up from the very beginning, surrendering a liner off the left field wall to leadoff batter Sakamoto, and three more hits (leading to three runs) before even recording an out.

Sitting in the Lotte outfield, I leaned over to John and said “Hey, at least it couldn’t get any worse than that.” Yeah, that makes it feel better. Yomiuri would tack on another run via a shallow sac fly before the inning was over to start the second up 4-0.

Lee grounds out to Imae. Better than the huge HR he hit, for sure.

Lotte had another great chance to score in the top of the second. Saburo grounded out to start the inning, and Benny beat the hell out of a ball, sending it on a rope off the top of the right field fence… for a single. One meter higher it’s a homer, a little more under it and it’s a double. Imae popped out to third, and Watanabe helped his own cause with a single that slipped through the right side. Yet again Lotte couldn’t capitalize, though, as Hayasaka grounded out to end the inning.

Watanabe settled down a bit after the awful first, sending down the Yomiuri lineup in order in the second. In the third, ex-Lotte slugger Lee Seung-Yeop had no interest in sentimental reunions with his ex-teammates as he positively destroyed a Watanabe offering, bouncing it right below the lights mounted to the wall in upper upper upper right field. The scoreboard said it was a 145m HR, but that can only be true if it is 145m on a line from home to that exact spot on the wall. In the open air, that ball would have traveled a good 50m more than that, at least. 5-0 Yomiuri.

Yomuiri has to bribe fans with free stuff from a weird mascot and cheerleaders to get them to cheer. How sad.

Yomiuri’s Greisinger really put the muzzle on Lotte bats for the next four innings, sending down the side in order in the 3rd-6th innings. He did yield the first Lotte run of the game in the 7th on a double to Saburo, who was brought home with a timely hit from Imae. I suspect it was the power of We Love Marines inspiring the Lotte Fighting Spirit. 5-1 Yomiuri.

As the Giants sang their theme for their 7th inning, the Lotte fans booed heartily. It was completely classless and of course I was joining in as loud as I could. As I mentioned before, this blog is a 100% Anti-Giants zone, and that extends to game time also.

Lotte fans join forces to try to pluck Alex Ramirez from left field

Yomiuri players tried to fight for their pride, getting two hits of Lotte reliever Kawasaki but ultimately scored no runs to keep it 5-1.

In the top of the 8th, Lotte struck back. Yamaguchi relieved Greisinger and promptly got jumped. Hori pinch hit for Hayasaka and got a single to lead off the action. He advanced to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a Takehara single to make it 5-2. Tsuyoshi pinch-hit for Ohmtasu and dribbled a ball to third which he beat out for a single. That was it for Yamaguchi, sadly, as Giants skipper Hara brought in Ochi to stem the relentless Lotte attack. Ochi did his job too well, inducing Iguchi into a DP and Sato into a grounder to end the inning.

La La La La, La La Takehara.

In the 9th Lotte couldn’t really get anything going, so the game ended in a 5-2 defeat.

On the plus side, former first round pick Uchi made his first appearance at ichi-gun in three years and only his 20th in his career. He came in as a reliever in the 6th inning and pitched about as well as humanly possible – three strikeouts looking on only 10 pitches. Dominant. If he continues to pitch anywhere like that he’ll be staying up for a while. Also in good news, Heiuchi was sighted warming up the outfielders by the dugout (though he didn’t play). He took a pitch so hard off his leg on Thursday that he needed to be carried off on a stretcher, so it’s good to see him not in a wheelchair. That’s one tough hombre.

Uchi gets his first chance in years and makes the most of it

Interleague ends tomorrow with the final game between Lotte and Yomiuri. I don’t want to give too much away, but I feel a huge Lotte win in the offering tomorrow. Of course, I am both biased and usually wrong, so make of it what you will.

June 20, 2009
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 up 10 runs on 4 2-run Yakult HRs in a 10-1 loss. The runs were spread pretty evenly as starter Naruse yielded three (taking the loss), Nakagoh gave up two on a HR to D’Antona, Furuya gave up another, and Ogino was taken deep twice for 4 runs.

The offense was similarly ineffective, grounding into 4 double plays to eliminate several potential rallies. It’s best not to dwell on this loss, I think.

I managed to make it to Thursday’s game at Jingu and had a quite enjoyable time in the Lotte outfield bleachers with Deanna of the Marinerds blog. There was a lot of offense in this game but not so many timely hits to capitalize on that offense as the game went to 11 innings, won by Guiel’s sayonara blast to deep right center off Lotte reliever Sikorski. It was a very entertaining 6-5 loss to Yakult.

Lotte starter Ohmine warms up in the bullpen

Tokyo got on the board first in the bottom of the first inning. With two on D’Antona singled off of Lotte starter Ohmine to make it 1-0. Lotte struck back in the thrid with three straight doubles off of Tokyo starter Tateyama, the third off the bat of Hashimoto to score Ohmatsu and Iguchi to give Lotte the lead 2-1.

Tokyo scored again in the bottom of the inning to tie it up at 2-2. There it stayed until the top of the fifth. In that inning, Ohmatsu hit a solo shot to right to give Lotte a 3-2 lead, and after a pair of Tateyama walks Benny hit a 2-run double to give Lotte a 3-run lead.

Not content with being in front, Ohmine gave it all back in the bottom of the fifth. Guiel hit a single to score Aoki and make it 5-3, and after singles by Miyamoto and Aikawa Nakagoh relieved Ohmine. After a strikeout of Kawashima pinch hitter Morioka singled to tie the game. Miyamoto scored the second run on a wild throw from right by Ohmatsu, who was given an error. It was a wide throw but the error to my mind shouldn’t have been charged to Ohmatsu, as nobody was backing up Hashimoto at the plate when the throw got by. If someone backs up that play (it should have been Nakagoh’s responsibility) the run wouldn’t have scored, and the inning would have ended 5-4 Lotte.

Lotte outfield chills during a pitching switch

But the game was tied, and the rest of the game was left to the bullpens. Neither Lotte nor Tokyo mounted a real threat until the 10th inning. With two outs in the top of the frame Lotte loaded the bases on a walk to Lambin, a double by pinch hitter Takehara, and a HBP to pinch hitter Heiuchi. The HBP looked simply awful, nailing Heiuchi in the lower leg. He had to be carried off by stretcher. Unfortunately, Fukuura struck out to leave the game tied.

Tokyo un-tied the game in a big way in the bottom of the 11th, as Sikorski came in to pitch. Not wanting to walk leadoff batter Guiel on a 2-3 pitch, Sikorski gave Guiel a pitch to hit, and he promptly put it very, very deep into the right field stands. 6-5 Yakult, and a sayonara loss for the Marines.

Lotte fan loves the Tokyo Ondo

It’s a bit disappointing that Lotte would only score 5 on a day when they would record 8 doubles and a HR (on 12 hits total), though Tokyo’s offense was just as inefficient, with their 6 runs coming on 15 hits. But they got the hit that counted and took the season series 3-1.

Lotte fans have umbrellas of their own

It was a bit odd cheering at this game without any drums. Our part of the stands was constantly out of sync with the rest of the stands (usually faster) so I had to keep looking to my right to see what was going on with the rest of the fans. It’s amazing how helpful the drums are; you don’t realize that until you don’t have them.

Be careful! There’s balls around

June 18, 2009