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Eagles vs Hawks Game 24 Preview

Tonight we get a preview of next week's Pacific League playoffs as the Softbank Hawks come to Sendai to take on the Eagles in a game that was originally scheduled for October 2nd but was rained out.  The Hawks haven't played since the 6th so they should be well rested, perhaps even a little rusty.  They're in the midst of a 4-game losing streak and will definitely want something positive to build on as they'll be back here on the 16th to begin Stage 1 of the Climax Series.

The Eagles on the other hand have only had six days off since the beginning of September!  Last night in Sapporo, manager Katsuya Nomura gave many of his starters a well deserved rest, having clinched second place on Friday night at home.  The Fighters ran roughshod over the Eagles in a meaningless game for both teams, winning 7-1.

Tonight's game should be an interesting one, for a couple of reasons besides the obvious playoff matchup.  As I mentioned before, the Hawks haven't played in a while, and with the news that DH Nobuhiko Matsunaka will miss the rest of the season to have knee surgery Softbank will need to tinker with their lineup.  Not the best time of the year to be doing that no doubt.  The 36-year old Matsunaka was having a solid season, batting .279 with 23 homeruns, 80 RBI, and 62 runs scored, and will be dearly missed in their lineup.  We'll also see if the intensity will be there, or if both teams will simply mail it in and try not to get injured.  Or will there be some sort of incident tonight, further fueling the fire for the playoffs this Friday?

Rakuten leads the season series 13 to 10, and will be looking for their third straight win over Softbank.

Photo © Yahoo! Japan

Pitching Matchup

The postponed October 2nd matchup was a pitcher's dream, with Masahiro Tanaka facing off against Toshiya Sugiuchi.  Tonight's matchup... perhaps it's more of a hitter's dream.  Darrell Rasner (4-6, 6.01) will see if he can stay in the game longer than Tsuyoshi Wada (3-5, 4.31).  A consistently inconsistent pitcher, Rasner hasn't pitched horribly since returning to the club last month, but many of his faults have been covered up by an unprecedented offensive period for Rakuten.  If he can't put anything positive together tonight, look for him to spend the postseason in the bullpen.  The lone bright spot in all of this is that he is 1-1 with a 1.26 ERA against Softbank this year.

It's not all doom and gloom though, as Wada has been just as bad.  He hasn't won a game since May 22nd during interleague play.  The former 14-game winner was demoted in June, and hasn't exactly shown management that he was worthy of a September recall with an 0-2 record in three starts.  The no-decision came against the Eagles on September 29th, where he went a solid six innings and gave up only 2 earned runs.

Who's Hot

2B Yosuke Takasu has been swinging a hot bat of late.  Had he gotten enough at-bats, his .302 average would have easily placed him in the Pacific League top 10, joining teammates Daisuke Kusano (.307) and Teppei Tsuchiya (.328).  The 33-year old Takasu is 7 for 15 in his last five games with three runs batted in.

Who's Cold

Can somebody please tell Nomura that the zombie corpse of DH Takeshi Yamasaki is indeed dead?  Since showing a glimmer of life in the Seibu series on the 3rd and 4th, the 23-year veteran's slump has gotten even worse.  With only a single hit in his last 19 at-bats and no RBI, the 41-year old has created a void in the lineup as big as he is.

Despite winning his first ever batting title, CF Teppei hasn't been quite the same since missing two games with a leg injury.  He's gone hitless since returning to the lineup.  Since Teppei bats 3rd and Yamasaki bats cleanup, you can see how this is a cause for concern.

First pitch at 6pm local time, 2am PST.  I'll be at the game, standing in the Ouendan for the first time!  If I find a few spare moments I'll do a bit of tweeting from the game.

Related posts:

1. Eagles vs Hawks Game 22 Preview
2. Eagles vs Hawks Game 23 Preview
3. Eagles vs Hawks Game 24 Preview
4. Eagles vs Hawks Game 21 Preview
5. Eagles vs Hawks Climax Series Game 1 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.