We Love Marines

Tag: Naoya Masuda

  • Random Photo Post – Golden Times

    I’ve got piles and piles of old photos I’ve never posted for one reason or another. This set is from Golden Week last year – the aftermath of a 2-1 Lotte win over Daiei and another game where Nakaushiro, Masuda, and Fujioka were the heroes.

    There’s no outstanding reason that I didn’t post them before. Actually, that’s not true – I wrote a lengthy post that I was unhappy with, got frustrated, and didn’t post these or anything else for months. SERIOUS writer’s block, I suppose.

    [slickr-flickr search=”sets” set=”72157629936398337″ type=”gallery” thumbnail_size=”small” thumbnail_captions=”on” size=”original”]

  • Sweep! Sweep! – 6 May 2013

    Yafu Dome The only thing sweeter that a sweep is two sweeps in a row. And that’s exactly what Our Marines pulled off today on the last day of Golden Week in lovely Fukuoka – a 5-2 victory over Daiei for the sixth victory in a row and the second sweep. My only regret is I wasn’t there to see it.

    Young Kazunari Abe got the call-up from ni-gun for the game and pitched 6 1/3 innings of 4 hit, no run ball (though with 5 walks) to get the win. This start was Abe’s 10th of his ichi-gun career and his first victory. He actually pitched pretty well in ichi-gun last year in a few appearances but couldn’t stick around the whole season. This start was not dominant at all, but who needs dominant when you don’t allow any runs?

    Honestly Lotte could have put this game far out of reach early on. Lots of baserunners – 18 total – but 13 strikeouts including several in key chance situations let the Hawks hang around a bit longer than they should have. Much like Abe’s pitching, though – you don’t need to score bunches of runs, just more than your opponent, and the 5 posted by Our Marines was easily sufficient.

    We got a run off emergency starter Morifuku in the second inning thanks to a clutch infield single (complete with headslide into first) by Nemoto. Iguchi added another with a solo shot in the 3rd, and Kakunaka plated Kawamoto in the 4th, though Nemoto was called out at home to end the inning. Kakunaka again delivered in the 8th with a timely single to center scoring Okada and making it 5-0. Okada actually reached base with what I would call an infield double. He bounced one just past pitcher Niho, and as first baseman LaHair went to cover the bag Niho couldn’t field it and the ball trickled all the way into right. I’m not sure I’ve seen a double quite like that before.

    Matsunaga gave up a pair in the 8th but Masuda left no doubt as to the final score – as always! – with a perfect 9th.

    With huge momentum on their side Our Marines come home to QVC for the final 5 games before the start of interleague next week. Up next is a two game set with equally hot Seibu, fresh off a series sweep of their own against the Fighters. Who is going to be leading the Pa-League at the break? We shall see.

    Smoking: Credit to Abe for pitching a solid game and getting his first win, despite the 5 walks. No runs is no runs and a win is a win. Kakunaka continues to immolate opposing pitchers – 3 for 5 with a pair of RBI and a stolen base. Iguchi stays warm with a 2 for 5 performance including the solo shot. Masuda gets a super quick 6 pitch 9th for his 11th save.

    Cold: Kiyota had a miserable day at the plate – only a weak ground out in his 5th at bat prevented him from the Platinum Sombrero (though he wrapped up the Golden Sombrero in the 7th). Saburo did nothing in the cleanup spot and is batting .213. Matsunaga gave up his first runs in over a month in the 8th.

  • Win One For Ohmine! – 5 May 2013

    Yafu Dome

    On June 30, 2010 Yuta Ohmine beat the Softbank Hawks 7-3 at Chiba Marine Stadium. Tsuyoshi, Kim Taekyun, and Takehara were in the starting lineup, and Matoba caught Ohmine. It was a long time ago in baseball years.

    On May 5, 2013 Yuta Ohmine finally got another ichi-gun win with a nice 2-1 victory over – again – Softbank, this time in Fukuoka. What a long road it’s been for the former #1 draft pick! This one boiled down to the pitching – second year budding ace Takeda vs Ohmine and the Lotte pen. Takeda pitched damn impressively last year vs Lotte – I was in attendance in Fukuoka last July when he shut us down completely – and he earned a win just last week over Ohmine in QVC.

    The Softbank bats did what Lotte couldn’t do in the first – get the runner home from second. Hasegawa drew a walk vs Ohmine and Uchikawa brought him in with a timely single. Just like that, 1-0 Hawks. But Ohmine didn’t quit – he allowed only 3 more hits and two walks, no more runs before leaving for Hattori in the 6th. It was a nice bit of pitching – plenty of movement on his pitches and no real trouble.

    Our Marines couldn’t solve Takeda at all until the 5th. Well-placed hits by Daichi and Kiyota put two on for Okada, who brought in a critical run with a single for the second game in a row to tie it. In the 6th Kakunaka led off with a single and Iguchi followed with another to put runners on the corner with no outs. Takeda got Whitesell and Imae and looked like he might get out of the inning, but too much nibbling led to consecutive walks – Kiyota’s would bring in a run that would prove to be the game winner.

    Only 6 hits for Lotte but that’s all that was needed. The series is wrapped up already after Lotte’s 5th win in a row, but we go for the second sweep in a row on the road with Abe facing emergency spot starter (and sometimes Prince lookalike) Morifuku.

    Hot: The Lotte pen – 3 2/3 innings, only 1 hit and 6 Ks for Hattori, Nakagoh, Matsunaga, and Masuda. Masuda gets his 10th save and Matsunaga continues to be the setup man Masuda was last year. Kakunaka ran his hitting streak to 5 games. Okada gets a game-tying RBI for the second game in a row.

    Not so much: Whitesell has looked completely lost at the plate this series. Lotte catchers continue to be an offensive black hole but the defense and pitch calling has been nice.

  • On A Roll – 4 May 2013

    Yafu Dome

    It hasn’t always been pretty, but the 2013 Chiba Lotte Marines are playing some pretty decent ball right now. More importantly, a recent run of 10 wins in 14 games has got Our Marines just 1.5 games out of first place.

    What happened? The pitching settled down for one. With the exception of the first two games at Seibu Dome, Lotte pitching has been pretty damn good. Perennial ace Naruse has been blazingly hot – 0.99 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 3/1 K/BB, and an unblemished 4-0 record. Strong stuff, even by his standards. Much more surprising has been the emergence of Yuji Nishino, up from Ikusei to the 6th best ERA in the league at 1.76. Karakawa has been decent but not spectacular, and we’ve gotten serviceable starts from Fujioka and blast-from-the past Yuta Ohmine.

    The pen’s been a mixed bag but it’s anchored by a suddenly strong Hattori, awesome rookie Matsunaga, and the ever-reliable Masuda, league leader in saves and good luck charm for a Lotte win. 13 Masuda appearances, 13 Lotte wins.

    This has ALL been without Satozaki, all been without our number 2 starter, Greisinger. Seth just had a rehab start at ni-gun last week so it stands to reason that he’s going to rejoin the rotation soon.

    I got to go to Seibu Dome for game 3 of the Lotte-Seibu series and it was pure magic. Get down early, big four run comeback as we like to do at Seibu, and a game winning 9th inning dinger by Whitesell to top it all off. I love the weekday crowds in the Lotte OF at Seibu Dome – hardest of the hardcore. Daichi got his first career homerun in this game and the guy next to me – a big guy, even louder than me – totally lost his voice from going apeshit crazy. I put a few videos from the game’s aftermath at the end of this post.

    Saturday’s start to the Lotte-Daiei series was a pitcher’s duel for much of the game but in the end one pitcher stood tallest – Naruse. Only a single HR to Uchikawa marred the start – a complete game, 11 pitch, 8 K, 3 hit master class. But the HR to Uchikawa just framed the game perfectly – immediately after, Our Marines rallied to tie the game in the Lucky 7th off a timely bases-loaded knock by Okada and took the lead for good with a great smack by Kakunaka to plate two. With Naruse pitching so well there was no way Lotte could lose.

    The second game features Ohmine vs last year’s Super Rookie Takeda, who’s been very good indeed against us. Can we break through for a win?

    Here’s some videos from Seibu Dome.

    [cvg-gallery galleryId=’2′ mode=’showcase’ limit=’5′ /]

  • A Series Win!

    Mr Masuda

    MY GOD. HE POSTS TWICE IN A WEEK. What can I say, I am in a chatty mood.

    Here’s what you need to know about the series with Nippon Ham: 2-1. Really, that’s the most important part. We’ve had our troubles against the Fighters in recent years but they’ve lost a lot of guys and are in a bit of a reloading phase, I think. Still, they have plenty of top line players like Nakata, Yoh, Yoshikawa, Masui, and Takeda to be damn dangerous.

    In the third game Karakawa took the hill and was by no means either consistent or dominating but you could see some of the brilliance we know him for (and was lacking in his first two starts this year) creep back in. Tonight’s line – 7 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 K, and only one run. That’ll usually get it done, especially with rookie Matsunaga and the ever reliable Masuda in the pen to back him up. 5 runs on 8 hits and 8 BBs by the bats helps, too. 5-1 is how it ended.

    The run scoring has been spotty all year but one thing is pretty constant – the guys are getting on base. Tonight it worked out well, last night hard-luck Fujioka couldn’t get any runs to help him out. Hopefully this smooths out over the season.

    Speaking of Fujioka, he is the Prince of Consistency, though I am not sure he’d want that title after these three starts. Check it out:

    7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 110 pitches
    7 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 107 pitches
    7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 112 pitches

    Sort that any way you want, it’s the same start over and over. We’d like those starts to be better but at least he’s been decent.

    Playing time for our up-and-coming stars has lead to great production so far. Daichi went on a tear again tonight, 3-5 with a triple, an RBI and a run scored. Ishimine got the start again and again delivered – 1-3 with an RBI. Give ’em a chance, that’s all I can ask for. But where is T Ogino? Hmmmmmm.

    I’m slumming in a picnic box for the first game of the set with Rakuten on Friday. Lately I’ve been mostly in the outfield and this is the first time in the picnic boxes for the year. I’m sure I’ll be back in the outfield next week. Tomorrow should be an interesting game – ace Naruse vs Rakuten’s second round pick Norimoto. Norimoto got the win in the 17-5 beatdown we took at K-Sta a couple of weeks ago, so I think it’s time we return the favor. The forecast says…. Wind blowing out and kinda strong – looks like fun.

  • Newcomers to the Rescue!

    Eight games into the season and Our Marines are off to a solid start. Every game has been close so far – only last Saturday’s 0-4 loss was decided by greater than three runs, and that was tied 0-0 into the last inning. Obviously we shouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves but we Lotte fans have just gotta be excited by a start to the season where so many newcomers are making a difference. I’ve thought our pitching would be the strength of the team this year, and if the bats can get hot like they did in 2010 it could be another fine year.

    The heart of the first week hot start was quite clearly the influence of the newcomers to Makuhari. Rookies Fujioka (1st round), Nakaushiro (2nd), and Masuda (4th) all made the Ichi-gun roster. New foreign players (but NPB veterans) Whitesell and Greisinger have been plugged into key roles – DH and number 4 starter, respectively. In the first 8 games, all have produced very, very well.

    In fact, the pitching staff as a group has thrown a quality start in 7 of the first 8 games, the only exception being Karakawa’s start on Saturday. Actually, that is where the term “quality start” becomes a misnomer. In that game Karakawa threw 8 scoreless, only allowing 3 baserunners before tiring and imploding in the 9th. If that is not a “quality start” – by common understanding, not technical definition – then I am not sure what is.

    For my money, Nakaushiro’s debut was the most impressive. Game 2 in Sendai against Rakuten – Nakaushiro comes in in relief in the 8th inning, Lotte with a 5-3 lead. Carlos Rosa has started the inning but has gotten into a grade-A jam. It’s bases loaded and only one out. Nakaushiro not only has ton overcome his nerves in his first pro appearance, but he’s got to be nearly flawless. And nearly flawless he was – 2 up, 2 down, both Rakuten batters faced down in strikeout fashion. It was a scintillating debut and it was enough to pretty much seal the victory and get him the hero interview.

    Right behind Nakaushiro’s debut are both starts from Greisinger – 15 innings combined, 15 strikeouts, 6 hits, 2 walks, absolutely no earned runs. Amazing. And rookie Masuda? He’s become the go-to man for middle relief. He’s appeared in 5 of 8 games: 4 innings total, 4 strikeouts, no walks, only 2 hits, and again absolutely no runs allowed.

    Wow. And because of all these fantastic pitching contributions Lotte is 5-3 and in second place.

    I don’t know about you, but I am really fired up by how this season is starting!

  • Spring Comes Early to Ishigaki

    It’s cold in Chiba but warm in Ishigaki! The 2012 NPB season is starting to warm up with Spring Camp in full swing.

    Apologies if you see this article before I’ve fixed the formatting on the site! It’s a bit messed up right now.

    I’ve taken a little 3-day swing down south to check out the 2012 team and especially the new rookies! After last year’s disaster (10 games out of 5th place!) we needed a bit of optimism this offseason. It came in the form of arguably the most prized player in the draft, Takahiro Fujioka, lefty pitcher from Toyo University. Fujioka LOOKS like a star, great smile, commanding presence on the field. During the time I have seen him so far in camp i’ve felt this well of gravity around him – the press contingent, mobs of fans watching his every move. It’s safe to say that we fans expect to see him in the starting rotation on opening day, and expect him to be very good.

    So far I’ve managed to meet our top two picks this year – both Fujioka and our second pick, lefty sidearmer Yuhei Nakaushiro from Kinki University. Nakaushiro has every bit a unique delivery as our beloved Shunsuke. I can honestly say I have never seen a lefty throwing that hard from that angle before. Hopefully I can get some video today.

    Many fans I’ve talked to seem to think our third pick in the draft has a great shot at being the starting shortstop when the season opens. Daichi Suzuki was Fujioka’s teammate at Toyo University and is really being given a chance to shine this spring camp. In the two Red-White intersquad games I’ve seen so far he’s been pretty impressive. He legged out a double in Saturday’s game and made an amazing diving stab at a liner in yesterday’s game. Nice first impression.

    Our final pick in the 2011 draft has also seen some game time during the intersquad games – Naoya Masuda from Kansai Kokusai University. I honestly don’t know much about Masuda, but the two innings I saw him pitch were quite intriguing. High velocity, super duper fast delivery; violent, even. He came from the set to delivering the pitch in near record time.

    Lots more to come soon! I’m off to see more practice now.