Eagles vs Fighters CS Game 3 Postgame: Meltdown
Source Photo © www.rakuteneagles.jp
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SAPPORO DOME, SAPPORO - Boxing and baseball have few, if any similarities to each other. I suppose that both sports use a type of glove. Both sports require years of training, precision timing, and pinpoint accuracy, but at their core they are two different animals entirely. There is however, one facet, one feature, one story that not only links boxing to baseball, but to almost every competitive sport known to man -- Getting Old.
Eagles vs Marines Postgame: You Gotta Have Wan
KLEENEX STADIUM, SENDAI - As all of Japan awaited the arrival of Typhoon Melor, the Eagles and Marines managed to squeeze in Bobby Valentine's final NPB game, although perhaps Bobby wished they didn't as Rakuten blasted the popular manager out of Japanese baseball with a 9-0 win. With the win the Eagles lowered their magic number to one!
The Eagles began the rout in the fourth inning. Marines starter Yuki Karakawa (5-8) was going along just fine, retiring the first two batters of the inning, when the home team shocked the youngster with 6 straight hits. Catcher Jin Nakatani started the scoring with a single to center, scoring Fernando Seguignol. With runners now on 1st and 3rd, CF Ryo Hijirisawa cleared the bases with a double that LF Ohmatsu failed to catch, the error putting the Eagles ahead 3-0. Hirjirisawa then scored on a Masato Nakamura single, and the lead was four.
In the fifth inning, 3B Daisuke Kusano connected for his 5th homerun of the year, depositing it into the right field seats.
The Rakuten offense continued to put the hurt on Karakawa in the seventh. With two runners in scoring position, speedy Kensuke Uchimura (the shortest player in NPB at 163cm, or 5ft 3in) lined an RBI single to left. Kusano continued his strong night, cranking a 1-1 fastball into right field for a bases-clearing double. That marked the end of the night for the 20-year old righty. Karakawa's line on the night: 6.1 IP, 10 H, 5 K, 0 BB, 8 R, 5 ER.
The Eagles completed the slaughter in the 8th, as Uchimura picked up his second RBI of the night on a fielder's choice grounder.
Photo © www.rakuteneagles.jp
Pitching
While supposed staff aces Hisashi Iwakuma and Masahiro Tanaka have been steadily worsening down the stretch drive, Sataoshi Nagai (13-7) has proven to be Rakuten's most reliable pitcher over the second half of the season. The 25-year old right hander is 5-1 over his last seven starts with a crisp 2.00 ERA. Nagai had a very economical outing Wednesday night, facing only three batters over the minimum through seven innings, fanning six Marines. With the game already in the bag, Tsuyoshi Kawagishi replaced Nagai, pitching a perfect 8th and 9th inning to close out the game.
Photo © www.rakuteneagles.jp
Hitting
Teppei who?!? The PL leading hitter's replacement in centerfield, Ryo Hijirisawa, has surprised everyone with how well he's played since replacing Teppei on Monday. He's batted .500 (4 for 8), with a pair of runs scored and RBI in two games so far. Maybe he likes the rain, who knows?
Daisuke Kusano continued his excellent season with 3 RBI and a solo homer, and even little Uchimura got into the action with a pair of RBI.
Next Game
The Eagles get a well-deserved rest today as the typhoon attacks all of Japan. Tomorrow night they're back at it, looking to continue their dominance over the cellar-dwelling Orix Buffaloes. Rakuten needs only to win one of their three remaining games to lock up 2nd place, let's hope they get it over with early!
Eagles vs Marines Game 24 Preview
Photo © www.rakuteneagles.jp
The Eagles finish off a stretch of five games in five nights in Sendai tonight and will face a familiar foe, hopefully under better conditions. The Marines won a wet one last night 5-2 in what was manager Bobby Valentine's final home game. While it's nice for him to go out on a high note in front of his fans, I hope the Eagles can rebound quickly from the loss an inch closer to home field advantage in the playoffs.
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The pressure is squarely on Rakuten. Lotte, long eliminated from reaching the playoffs, will be trying to win one last game for their manager while the Eagles have to win two of their final four games to clinch second place in the Pacific League. Nippon Ham locked up first place last night so the race is down to Rakuten and Softbank.
The weather might not be any better at Kleenex Stadium than it was at Marine Stadium however, as rain is forecasted to begin in the afternoon.
Photo © Yahoo! Japan
Pitching Matchup
Satoshi Nagai (12-7, 3.57) will try to add one more win to his breakout season tonight. He last pitched on September 30th in a complete game victory at home over the Hawks. Despite this, the 25-year old has not pitched well at home, or against the Marines for that matter.
- @ Kleenex Stadium: 11 GS, 4 W, 5 L, 10 HR, 3.66 ERA
- Vs Lotte Marines: 3 GS, 0 W, 1 L, 1 HR, 4.86 ERA
The Eagles will be in tough, facing young right-hander Yuki Karakawa (5-7, 3.48). Although he's got a mediocre record, he's performed quite well versus Rakuten (2-1, 2.41). He'll be looking to avenge his most recent loss, which came at the hands of the Eagles on the 19th of last month.
Who's Hot
The Eagles' batters got cooled off (literally and figuratively) in Chiba last night. The lone bright spot was Ryo Hijirisawa (2 for 4, 2 RBI) who was playing for the injured Teppei. If Tsuchiya can go tonight, Nomura should consider moving Hijirisawa over to right field.
Who's Cold
Second baseman Naoto Watanabe is 2 for 12 (.167) in his last three games. With Teppei out of the lineup at the 3-spot, Rakuten is depending even more on the speedy 29-year old to kick-start the offense.
Catcher Jin Nakatani is continuing to receive the bulk of the playing time over Motohiro Shima recently; it looks like Nomura is going with the more experienced player through this stretch drive. He's batting just .133 (2 for 15) over the last seven games though. Shima was just starting to swing the bat well when he got planted on the bench. Both catchers are comparable defensively; Nomura should give Shima a chance, then just ride whoever is hotter into the playoffs.
First pitch is at 6pm local time, 2am PST.
Eagles vs Marines Postgame: Win one for the skipper
Photo © www.marines.co.jp
MARINE STADIUM, CHIBA - On a rain-soaked night, one that probably would have been postponed if not for the significance of it, the Chiba Lotte Marines broke a 2-2 deadlock in the 8th inning to send manager Bobby Valentine off on a high note, defeating the Eagles 5-2.
Things started off well enough for the visiting Rakuten squad. In the second inning with the bases loaded, Ryo Hijirisawa, replacing the injured Teppei, bounced a single off of 1st base, scoring Takeshi Yamasaki and Daisuke Kusano.
The Marines would strike back in the bottom of the 2nd and 3rd however, tying the game at two, where the score would remain until the 8th inning. With two outs, back to back doubles by LF Ohmatsu and 3B Imai put the Marines ahead 3-2. Kazuo Fukumori walked Hashimoto on four pitches, then everything really went sideways for the Eagles. Catcher Tomoya Satozaki hit a harmless looking fly ball to deep right field, but Masato Nakamura, perhaps fighting the rainfall in his face, fell over backwards at the warning track allowing the two runners to score.
Retiring 18-year NPB veteran and long time Orions/Marines pitcher Satoru Komiyama came on to record the final out, giving Bobby Valentine a well deserved win to end his career (at home) in front of an adoring crowd.
Both Komiyama and Valentine gave speeches in a postgame ceremony. Bobby fought through tears to deliver a heartfelt speech in Japanese, which had every single person in the stadium crying as well. Or perhaps it was the downpour of rain instead.
Despite the loss, Rakuten's magic number dropped from three to two, thanks to a surprising shutout victory by Orix over Softbank this evening. If the Eagles win two of their remaining four games, they'll host Softbank in the 1st stage of the Climax Series.
Pitching
Let's hope it was just the weather that had Hisashi Iwakuma down tonight. He didn't look comfortable the whole night, constantly shaking his pitching arm and struggling with his control. He battled through the elements however, keeping his team even through six innings. Kuma's final line: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 K, 3 BB, 2R.
The bullpen failed to do their part though, which has been a frequent thorn in the side of manager Katsuya Nomura. There is simply no reliable relief pitcher on this team. While lefty Kenta Satake pitched a hitless 1 1/3 innings, the guilty party tonight was recently demoted closer Kazuo Fukumori (7-1, 9 SV). I'll give him the benefit of the doubt tonight as the weather conditions had deteriorated considerably by the 8th inning, but to be as consistently inconsistent as these relievers are must keep Nomura awake at night. Then again probably not, as he seems resigned to the fact that he will not be offered a contract for next year.
Hitting
Apart from that 2-run hiccup in the 2nd inning, Lotte starter Yoshihisa Naruse threw a fantastic game. The 24-year old scattered five hits over seven innings, striking out nine.
The top of the lineup really missed injured Teppei Tsuchiya tonight. The 1-2-3 hitter combined to go 0 for 10 on the night. Ironically, Teppei's replacement in centerfield, Ryo Hijirisawa, was the only Rakuten player to get more than one hit, but Nomura had him batting 8th in the lineup.
Next Game
One more quick turnaround, then a well deserved day off for the Eagles. Rakuten hosts the second game of this home and home series versus Lotte in what will be Bobby Valentine's final NPB game. At least until the next time he comes back to Japan!
Eagles vs Marines Game 23 Preview
Photo © www.iwakuma21.com
The Lotte Marines will look to play the spoiler on a very special night at the Chiba Marines Stadium tonight. Exiting Marines manager Bobby Valentine will coach his final home game which will no doubt be a special affair. It's been raining all day in Chiba however; hopefully the game will not be postponed. Rakuten leads the season series 12-10, including 8 straight victories over Lotte.
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Around the Pacific League, all six teams are playing today. 1st place Nippon Ham hosts 4th place Seibu, and 3rd place Softbank hosts 6th place Orix. With the Pacific League crown virtually assured for the Fighters, all eyes will be watching the score from the Yahoo Dome. An Orix victory will go a long way in helping Rakuten's goal of home field advantage in the 1st stage of the Climax Series. The lowly Buffaloes actually lead the season series with the Hawks, 12-11, but Softbank will be sending their ace pitcher Toshiya Sugiuchi (15-4, 2.47) to the mound to keep the pressure on the Eagles.
Photo © Yahoo! Japan
Pitching Matchup
No stranger to pressure, right hander Hisashi Iwakuma (13-6, 3.26) gets the nod tonight, facing Lotte's ace southpaw Yoshihisa Naruse (11-5, 3.31). Iwakuma has faced the Marines only once this year, way back on May 9th in Chiba, striking out six in a 6-2 win. More recently, the 28-year old will be looking to improve on his most recent outing, where he was tagged for five runs in six innings in a no-decision to the Hawks.
Naruse has yet to notch a victory over Rakuten this season, with no-decisions in both of his starts against them. The 6-year pro has been dominant at home however, going 7-1 with four complete games and averaging almost one strikeout per inning. Emotions will be at an all-time high in the stadium as well for Valentine's farewell, which should boost his motivation even more.
Who's Hot
1B Fernando Seguignol is riding a 10-game hitting streak, batting .432 (16 for 37) during this period. 2B Yosuke Takasu is hitting .500 over the past three games, and will probably bat leadoff for the Eagles tonight.
Who's Cold
It's tough to find many weaknesses when your team has won 18 of their last 25 games, but I'll try to keep my objectivity intact. Although Iwakuma has gone 2-1 over his last four starts, he's surrendered 15 runs over this span. Both of Rakuten's staff aces, Iwakuma and Tanaka, have seen their ERA's steadily increase as the season has progressed. It's impossible to think that the Eagles' offense can continue to produce at the rate they have recently, so the team is going to need some quality starts from their pitchers as they head into their first ever playoffs.
Incumbent "Who's Cold" member, DH Takeshi Yamasaki, went hitless last night. We'll see if his productive series versus Seibu earlier this week marked a turnaround for his slump, or was merely a momentary blip on his downward spiral.
CF Teppei Tsuchiya was injured at-bat in the top of the 9th last night when he was struck on his left leg with a wild pitch. Reports say that he's listed day-to-day with a bruised calf, and will probably be a game time decision. If he sits this one out, look for Ryo Hijirisawa or possibly Toshiya Nakashima to take one of the outfield positions.
First pitch at a special start time of 6:15pm local time, 2:15am PST.
Eagles vs Hawks Postgame: Akiyama’s gamble pays off
SENDAI, MIYAGI - A gutsy call by the Hawks manager in the bottom of the 9th, coupled with an RBI triple by second baseman Morimoto spoiled the Eagles' comeback attempt, as the Softbank Hawks drew first blood in this crucial 4-game series.
Down 5-1 at one point, Rakuten clawed back with two runs in the 6th and 7th innings to tie the game and had a chance to complete the comeback in the bottom of the ninth. 2B Yosuke Takasu led things off with a walk, and was replaced by pinch runner Ryo Hijirisawa, who stole second base. Teppei was up next, breaking his bat on an infield grounder and was out at a close play at first base. Teppei succeeded in advancing Hijirisawa to third though with only one out.
Here's where Akiyama's gamble began. He ordered the right handed pitcher Takahiro Mahara to intentionally walk DH Takeshi Yamasaki, putting men on the corners. Left handed hitting Daisuke Kusano came up to bat next, and Mahara intentionally walked him as well, loading the bases with only one out! Lumbering up to the plate next was switch hitting Fernando Seguignol, who has been enjoying an offensive revival of sorts in September. After fouling off four pitches into the 3rd base seats, he chopped a 2-2 offering to the right side of the infield. Hijirisawa was forced out at home, and Hawks catcher Hidenori Tanoue completed the rare 4-2-3 double play by firing the ball to first, long before Seguignol arrived at the bag. The strategy worked, giving Softbank the chance to win the game in the 10th inning, much to the disappointment of the Rakuten crowd, who were certain that a thrilling comeback was in the cards.
Pitching
Rakuten starter Hisashi Iwakuma had one of his worst performances of the year (6 IP, 9 H, 4 BB, 5 ER, 6 K). It's strange, many "ace" pitchers are struggling right now. We saw Seibu's Kishi and Wakui get lit up, Ma-kun got rocked in his last start, and now Iwakuma. Perhaps when the Fighters' Yu Darvish returns from the DL, all will be right again in the Pacific League pitching universe. Shinichiro Koyama took the loss for the Eagles.
Photo © www.rakuteneagles.jp
Hitting
Yamasaki finally hit one out of the park last night, and with 3 RBI eclipsed the century mark on the season. The only 2 batters to record multiple hits on the night were Naoto Watanabe and Todd Linden. Although Seguignol has been on a tear of late, I thought that Nomura should have tried for a squeeze play to win the game in the 9th. They had speed at 3rd, and the quick Makoto Kosaka on the bench. Nomura used squeeze plays with great success earlier in the year but has seemed to have abandoned them during the second half.
Next Game
The Eagles' are going to have to wash the nasty taste of this game out of their mouths quick, as they're back at it again tonight. Seibu also lost last night, so Rakuten's grip on 3rd place wasn't weakened, but the focus for Nomura's Eagles now should be to get the split in this series. A 3 games to 1 loss or god forbid a 4 game sweep would give the Hawks extra confidence and momentum leading into a probable postseason matchup between these two clubs.
2009 Playoffs, 1st Stage
16th Win 11-4
17th Win 4-1
Eagles win 2-0
2009 Playoffs, 2nd Stage
21st Loss 9-8
22nd Loss 3-1
23rd Win 3-2
24th Loss 9-4
Fighters win 4-1
2009 Season Standings
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