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Eagles vs Hawks Postgame: Nagai goes the distance

Photo © www.rakuteneagles.jp

SENDAI, MIYAGI - Softbank took the early lead again, but this time Rakuten was able to complete the comeback thanks to two Hawks errors and a strong outing by 25-year old Satoshi Nagai.

The Hawks opened the scoring in the 4th inning when third baseman Nobuhiro Matsuda cranked a 1-2 pitch over the centerfield wall.  The Eagles stormed back the next inning though.  Up until this point Hawks pitcher Sho Iwasaki had put together a pretty solid start, scattering four hits through four innings.  Then it all went sideways as the defense collapsed.  3B Daisuke Kusano began the frame with a single, and made it to 3rd base on a Fernando Seguignol bloop into right field.  With men on the corners, 2B Makoto Kosaka hit a grounder to right side of the infield.  Kusano bolted for home on contact, but the infielder fired the ball to catcher Hidenori Tanoue, and suddenly Kusano was caught in a rundown.  Tanoue inexplicably threw the ball into left field though, allowing Kusano to score and tie up the game.  C Jin Nakatani walked on four straight pitches, loading up the bases for RF Masato Nakamura, who made up for an earlier baserunning mistake with a fly single to left field to put the Eagles ahead by one.

That spelled the end of the night for Iwasaki (4.1 IP, 7 H, 1 K, 1 BB, 5 R, 3 ER) who was replaced by Keisuki Katto.  With the bases still loaded, SS Naoto Watanabe had a superb 10 pitch at-bat, culminating with a 2-run double over the head of LF Ortiz.  Ortiz' adventures in left field continued, failing to corral an easy fly ball, scoring Nakamura and allowing batter Teppei to reach 2nd base.  By the time Kusano struck out in this second at-bat of the inning the damage was done and Rakuten was ahead 6-1.  Nagai gave up one more run in the 7th, then closed the door on Softbank, ending the game with a 6-2 victory.

Pitching

Since the All-Star break, right-hander Satoshi Nagai has turned potential into performance and is now 5-1 in his last 7 starts.  His line on the night: 9 IP, 5 H, 5K, 2 BB, 2 R).  During this period he's also had 3 complete games and hasn't surrendered more than three runs in each start.  Does Rakuten now have a 1-2-3 punch for starting pitchers?  We'll find out in the playoffs!

Hitting

Watanabe's clutch double in the 5th inning proved to be the game winner, while Nakamura, Kusano, and Seguignol all had a pair of hits last night.  Seguignol's batting average is creeping towards respectability after hovering around the .200 mark for most of the season.

A special thanks as well to Hawks outfielder Ortiz, who looked like he'd never played left field before.

Next Game

It's now a 2-game series as second spot in the division is still up for grabs.  First pitch tonight at 6 pm.

GO EAGLES!!!

Related posts:

1. Eagles vs Hawks Postgame: Akiyama’s gamble pays off
2. Eagles @ Hawks Postgame: The Way It Is
3. Eagles vs Hawks Postgame: Bridges burnt
4. Eagles @ Hawks Postgame: Same Old Story
5. Eagles vs Hawks CS Game 1 Postgame: Goin’ Deep

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.