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Eagles vs Fighters CS Game 4 Postgame: Not over yet

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SAPPORO DOME, SAPPORO - It wasn't pretty, but it was enough.  Ma-kun came through when the Eagles needed him most, and the lineup provided a few surprises to keep their season alive for at least one more day, beating the Fighters 3-2 Friday night.  Rakuten now trails Nippon Ham three games to one in the best-of-seven series.

Pitching

Masahiro Tanaka (2-0, 1.00) proved that not only he is one of the best pitchers in NPB, but he's quickly becoming a big game pitcher as well.  He went the distance last Saturday to close out the Stage 1 series, and scattered six hits and struck out six tonight in his second consecutive complete game victory.  He got tagged early on, giving up a solo shot to last night's hero Shinji Takahashi, but settled down after that, retired 1o batters in a row at one point.  Things got a little hairy in the 8th as the Fighters scored on a Hichori Morimoto sac fly.  After walking Atsunori Inaba to put runners on the corners, Ma-kun got his revenge, striking out Takahashi to end the threat.  The home team went down in order in the bottom of the 9th, and Tanaka gave Katsuya Nomura the game ball to commemorate perhaps his last win as Eagles manager.

Hitting

© www.rakuteneagles.jp

In the fourth inning, slumping shortstop Naoto Watanabe finally broke out in dramatic fashion, slamming a 2-1 sinker over the left field wall for only his second home run of the season.  Teppei singled right after, and advanced to third base on a Fernando Seguignol single to right field.  Toshiya Nakashima continued his hot streak, dropping a single into left to put Rakuten ahead for the first time in the game.  With Seguignol now on third, Daisuke Kusano cracked a shot to left which Morimoto couldn't quite get a glove on, and the big first baseman crossed home to score what would be the game winning run.

Next Game

It's a quick turnaround tomorrow with a 2pm start.  Rookie Hiromichi Fujiwara probably won't be sleeping too well tonight, as the weight of the season now rests on his shoulders.

* We went down to Kleenex Stadium to watch the game on the big screen with the other diehard Eagles fans tonight.  The atmosphere was lively and fun despite the chilly weather.  Here are a few pics from around the stadium.

Related posts:

1. Eagles vs Fighters CS Game 3 Postgame: Meltdown
2. Eagles vs Fighters CS Game 5 Postgame: Sayonara
3. Eagles vs Fighters CS Game 2 Postgame: Paradise Lost
4. Eagles vs Fighters Postgame: Sleeping on the job
5. Eagles vs Fighters CS Game 4 Preview

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.