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Eagles vs Lions Postgame: Chicks dig the long ball

TOKOROZAWA, SAITAMA - Looks like it was "Corked Bat Day" at the Seibu Dome this afternoon, as the Eagles and Lions combined to hit 7 balls out of the park.  Seguignol (13th HR) finally put one out, Linden (10th, 11th HR) smacked two, and Nakatani continues his great play with his 3rd of the year.  The heart of the Lions' order provided the deep balls for the home team: G.G. Sato (24th), Takeya "Okawari" Nakamura (44th), and Yoshihito Ishii (6th).

Early on things looked bleak for Rakuten as they fell behind 4-0 through four innings.  Then Lions' starter Kishi decided to start pitching moonballs, cueing the comeback.  Seguignol, Linden, and Nakatani stunned the crowd with back-to-back-to-back homeruns, cutting the lead to a single run.  After Masato Nakamura flied out, Naoto Watanabe picked up a hit, and Teppei got on base on an error, which also advanced Naoto to 3rd.  That spelled the end of the night for Ishii, who was replaced by Koji Onuma.  The Eagles kept on hitting though.  Daisuke Kusano singled, scoring Naoto, then Yosuke Takasu lined a hit into right field, scoring Teppei.  By the time Seguignol struck out to end the inning the damage had already been done, and the Eagles led the game for the first time.

In the bottom of the 5th Aoyama continued to struggle, giving up consecutive singles to put men at 1st and 2nd with no outs.  The recently VERY shaky Tsuyoshi Kawagishi replaced Aoyama and managed to pitch his way out of a bases loaded jam to end the threat.

Linden led off the 6th with his second dinger of the night, and provided the game winning RBI in the 7th.

Kawagishi reverted to recent form in the bottom of the 7th, serving up back-to-back homers to Nakamura and Ishii.  Kazuo Fukumori replaced the shell-shocked Kawagishi and pitched without incident through to the ninth.  After Rakuten tacked on 3 insurance runs in the top of the 9th, Aoyama came in an retired the side to complete the comeback.

Pitching - At times it looked like a Homerun Derby out there, with both starters getting an early trip to the showers.  Just after the All-Star break it had looked as though Rakuten had finally found its setup man in Kawagishi.  I'm not sure if it was nerves, or simply that batters learned the book on him because he's quickly gone from a solid reliever to erratic and unreliable.  He's not getting good movement on his pitches and doesn't have the velocity to get away with it.  At the other end is Koyama, who hasn't given up a run in his last 6 appearances.

Hitting - Left fielder Todd Linden had his best offensive game to date, going 4 for 5 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs.  It was nice to see someone other than DH Yamasaki hit one out of the park as well.  Catcher Jin Nakatani continued his great week as well.  Over the past month Nomura has been seen constantly lecturing Nakatani and Shima in the dugout during games.  Looks like whatever wisdom he's imparting on the platoon is doing the job.

Next Game - The rubber match starts at 1pm tomorrow.  It's almost a must-win game for Seibu, and Rakuten will be looking to take hold of 2nd place in the Pacific League, so let's hope the fireworks continue!

Related posts:

1. Eagles @ Lions Postgame: Timely Teppei
2. Eagles vs Lions Postgame: Rakuten clinches in style
3. Eagles vs Lions Postgame: Deathblow?
4. Eagles vs Lions Postgame: No Relief, No Problem
5. Eagles @ Lions Postgame: Throwing It Away

About Andrew

Andrew has lived in Japan since 2006, spending time exploring the Tohoku region. He frequently attends Rakuten Eagles games in Sendai. You'll find him sitting along the 3rd base line drinking Guinness wearing a #46 Teppei jersey, next to a Japanese girl in a #5 Seguignol jersey.          You can follow him on Twitter if that makes you happy.