Series Roundup: Eagles vs Marines
As this August heatwave continues to punish northern Japan, it would appear that the Eagles too have started to warm up. In the sweep of the Lotte Marines the Eagles began to resemble their 2009 form - aggressive running, solid pitching, timely hits, and home runs. Let's see if this was just a blip on an unimpressive 2010 season, or the start of a push up the standings.
Hisashi Iwakuma (7-6, 2.69) didn't have his best stuff on Tuesday, but it was just enough to keep the Marines at bay. Norihiro Nakamura hit a three run blast, and the Eagles held on to take the opener 5-3.
Lefty Kohei Hasebe (3-2, 5.85) went seven innings but left the game trailing 3-2. Koji Aoyama came on in relief, and Rakuten got some heroics from Teppei Tsuchiya and Takeshi Yamasaki to complete the come from behind victory. Shinichiro Koyama picked up his ninth save of the season.
Satoshi Nagai (7-7, 3.43) had a chance to complete the sweep on Thursday night, the eve of the Tanabata Festival, and didn't disappoint, going the distance as the Eagles beat the Marines 9-3. Rarely used catcher Suguru Ino and Daisuke Kusano both collected three hits and a pair of RBI, powering Rakuten to their first series sweep since July 8th, also against the Marines.
Video highlights, and the foreign players series stats, and some other breakdowns after the break.
Series Roundup: Eagles vs Buffaloes
The Eagles dropped two of three at home last week. In the series opener, the bullpen couldn't stop a threat in the sixth inning, giving up four runs just after they'd scored four themselves, losing 6-4. Former closer Tsuyoshi Kawagishi (2-5, 5.70) took the loss.
Takashi Kawai (1-2, 4.10) started the second game but couldn't keep the ball in the park as three Buffaloes home runs put the visitors up by five runs early. T. Okada blasted a pair, his 23rd and 24th of the season. Rakuten tried to make a game of it late, but ultimately fell 8-5.
Sunday's game marked the return of Masahiro "Ma-kun" Tanaka (9-6, 2.83), one of the league's best pitchers, and he didn't disappoint, striking out six in a 94 pitch, six inning performance. The bullpen was able to hold onto the lead this time, as Koji Aoyama and Shinichiro Koyama prevented Orix from the series sweep. Koyama picked up his seventh save of the year, and Randy Ruiz hit his seventh home run, a solo shot.
Video highlights, and the foreign players series stats after the break.
Series Roundup: Eagles vs Marines, July 6th – 8th
Back from a busy month at work! The Eagles started off this week well, sweeping the Chiba Lotte Marines at home in Kleenex Stadium. It looks as though manager Marty Brown has mixed things up a little; Shinichiro Koyama picked up a pair of saves in this series, and has three already this month. Video highlights of the three games, and a postgame interview with Todd Linden awaits you inside.
Week In Review, Vol. 10
Since there was no review last week, I'm just skipping number nine and moving on to week 10. Rakuten's been enjoying a good run during the Interleague play, thanks in large to the offense. While the Eagles went 4-1 last week they haven't been able to gain much ground in the standings; all the Pacific League teams are doing well against their Central League counterparts.
Eagles vs Carp Postgame: Hero-Shima!
© rakuteneagles.jp
KLEENEX STADIUM, SENDAI - Motohiro Shima cracked a bases loaded single into right-center field in the bottom of the tenth inning to cap a comeback victory for the Eagles Saturday night. I'm off to the stadium in a little bit to get in line for the ouendan, so I'll keep the recap pretty brief!
Eagles vs Fighters Postgame: Sayonara’d Again
© fighters.co.jp
CHIYOGADAI STADIUM, HAKODATE - Round two of Darvish vs Iwakuma was held earlier this afternoon at a rare home game for the Fighters in Hakodate, Hokkaido. The two starters didn't disappoint, with both of them pitching nine innings of shutout ball. Rakuten, after getting their asses handed to them 19-3 by the Seibu Lions just three days ago, ended up fighting tooth and nail in another one run game, which they promptly lost after Iwakuma left the game. Box score and video highlights inside.
Eagles @ Lions Postgame: Timely Teppei
© sanspo.com
SEIBU DOME, SAITAMA - The Eagles came out victorious in another squeaker yesterday afternoon in a game which they probably should've lost. Kenji Tomura made his second start for the ichi-gun squad, and was bailed out by a breakout performance by Teppei Tsuchiya. The usual shenanigans after the break.
Eagles vs Buffaloes Postgame: Sweeps Week
© www.rakuteneagles.jp
KLEENEX STADIUM, SENDAI - The Eagles continue to burn hot and cold, this time being on the happy side of a sweep against the struggling Orix Buffaloes. Rakuten has now been a part of three consecutive sweeps, victorious against the Fighters and Buffaloes with a loss to the Hawks in between. Read on how it all fell in to (and nearly out of) place after the break.
Eagles vs Buffaloes Postgame: A New Hope?
© www.rakuteneagles.jp
KLEENEX STADIUM, SENDAI - With the offense still on life support and the team reeling from a series sweep at the hands of the Softbank Hawks, the team got a huge boost from a couple of unlikely sources: the defense and the bullpen. Marty Brown went five-deep into his bullpen last night to eek out a 2-1 victory in an 11 inning marathon. Box score, video highlights, and some new found positivity after the break.
Eagles @ Marines Postgame: Who Let The Bats Out?
The Eagles were once again in a close game, clinging onto a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning, when the offense suddenly exploded for 7 runs in the seventh. Rakuten added one more in the 8th to seal the win, 13-4. Boxscore, video, and some analysis after the break.
Last Series (Away)
13th: Win 4-0
14th: Loss 3-2
15th: Loss 6-3
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17th @ 6:00 pm
18th @ 6:00 pm
19th @ 6:00 pm
2010 Season Standings
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Yakyu Baka » NPB
- NPB: Roster Changes for 9/4/2010 September 4, 2010Pacific League Roster Updates Added to the Active Roster Nippon Ham Fighters - Sunaga, Hideki P Rakuten Eagles - Kitani, Hisashi P Removed from the Active Roster Nippon Ham Fighters - Ishii, Yuya P Rakuten Eagles - Hasebe, Kohei P […]
- Tsuyoshi Nishioka scores 100th run September 4, 2010Tsuyoshi Nishioka (LOT) recorded his 100th run scored last night and became just the third player in franchise history to reach the 100 run milestone (the last Lotte player to do it was Hiromitsu Ochiai in 1985 with 118; the other player is Kaoru Betto with 108 in 1950). […]
- Kanemoto, Shimoyanagi, Hiyama to return to Tigers next season? September 4, 2010It seems the Tigers feel Tomoaki Kanemoto, Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi, and Shinjiro Hiyama are all still capable of putting up numbers and are considering them as pieces of the puzzle for the 2011 season. […]
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2009 Season Standings
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