2017 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: Tawata earns shutout in final series from Chiba

The Saitama Seibu Lions would go .500 for the week against the Orix Buffaloes and Chiba Lotte Marines in a road trip. They maintain a healthy 14 game lead on the Buffaloes and are only 5.5 games behind the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles for second place. Here is how we got there:

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The first game from Osaka had Chihiro Kaneko up against Ken Togame. Takahiro Okada hit a leadoff "Rickey Henderson" style home run to begin the bottom of the 1st for a 1-0 lead. Hiroyuki Nakajima added two more in the second with an RBI single.

The Lions were on the board in the top of the third thanks to a fielding error by Nakajima. Togame would only go two innings and couldn't get an out in the third. When Frank Garces entered, it was all but a disaster as Orix continued to feast on his pitching. Eiichi Koyano broke the game open in the bottom of the 4th with a bases clearing double.

Ichiro Tamura also got some mop up time and allowed two solo HRs to Masataka Yoshida as the game was on cruise control. This would be the first road loss in red uniforms.

Buffaloes 12, Lions 6

Game notes:

-Tamura and Garces were called up, replacing Shogo Noda and Keisuke Honda.

-Togame was deactivated after the game and Hirotaka Koishi was called up in his place. It was reported that Togame had tightness in his lower back.

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Game 2 featured Yosuke Okamoto against Nobuyoshi Yamada. Our old friend Nakajima would score first again with a solo HR in the bottom of the 2nd. The Lions responded with a timely single in the top of the 3rd by Shuta Tonosaki with two outs and the bases loaded, giving the team a 2-1 lead.

The bases were loaded again for the Lions in the top of the 4th, but Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura appeared to have grounded into a double play ball. However, Chris Marrero couldn't field the relay cleanly and two runs would score as the ball went past 1B.

Okamoto loaded the bases in the bottom of the 4th and Nakajima hit a single to score one run. The game was tied on a two-run double from Shuhei Kojima. After a grounder saved a run, Okamoto's night ended as the bases were loaded again with two outs. Shota Takekuma struck out T. Okada to end the threat and the game remained tied.

Taking over from the 4th inning Sachiya Yamazaki stayed in for the 5th. With two outs, Koyano would botch a throw to 1B and Yuji Kaneko was safe as Marrero was forced off the bag. Shogo Akiyama made them pay with a gapper as Kaneko scored from first. Sosuke Genda slapped the first pitch and double down the LF line to plate Akiyama. Asamura then hit one off the LF wall to score Genda and make it a 3-run inning.

Takekuma pitched a quick 5th inning thanks to a double play and the pitching was on automatic transmission. Hotaka Yamakawa added an RBI double in the 7th to extend a hit streak. Kazuhisa Makita pitched the 6th and 7th, Brian Schlitter took the 8th and Tatsushi Masuda took the 9th inning in what was a comfortable win.

Lions 8, Buffaloes 4

Game notes:

-Genda had a modasho with two doubles included.

-Yamakawa's batting average went above .300 for the first time going 1-2 with two walks.

-Naoto Watanabe took the DH while Takumi Kuriyama was on the bench.

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The rubber match had Takahiro Matsuba against Yusei Kikuchi. Orix scored first in the bottom of the 1st inning from a solo HR by Chris Marrero. This lead didn't last long, as Takumi Kuriyama tied the game with an RBI single in the second.

Ryoichi Adachi would then take one deep off Kikuchi in the 3rd inning. Matsuba held the Lions in check, allowing only one run through six innings, but had five walks. The score remained the same, until Asamura took a deep HR off Taisuke Kondo in the 8th inning to tie the game.

Kikuchi stayed in the game and it would bite the team. With two runners on, Okada struck out, but Masataka Yoshida would slice a gapper with the outfield playing in, plating both runners and giving Orix the lead once again. Yoshihisa Hirano allowed the tying run to be at the plate, but Daichi Mizuguchi lined out and the Lions lost the series.

Buffaloes 4, Lions 2

Game notes:

-Yamakawa's hitting streak was snapped, but he still drew two walks.

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The week would go to Kanto with the Chiba Lotte Marines using Tomohito Sakai against Ryoma Nogami. Asamura opened the scoring with a two-run HR in the top of the first. Chiba got a run back on an unusual fielder's choice which resulted in a throwing error by Okawari-kun.

Asamura hit a second HR of the game with a solo shot in the third. The Marines then tied the game in the bottom of the 5th, where Katsuya Kakunaka pulled a HR into the Marines Oendan. Both pitchers would only go five innings, leaving it into the hands of the bullpen.

Shota Takekuma helped bail out Katsunori Hirai in the 6th inning, but ran into trouble for the 7th. Two RBI gappers from Willy Mo Pena and Daichi Suzuki led to two runs, giving the Marines their first lead of the night. There was one last gasp for the Lions with the tying runners in scoring position, but Asamura and Okawari-kun both struck out to end the game.

Marines 5, Lions 3

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Game notes:

-Watanabe and Kuriyama appeared in the game as pinch hitters, though only Watanabe would get an AB.

-Daichi Mizuguchi was the starting DH.

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The second game would have Shinsaburo Tawata facing our old friend Hideaki Wakui. After Tawata had an early battle with runners on the corners, this one wouldn't have scoring for some time until the top of the third, where Yuji Kaneko took a HR into the Marines entrance gate for a solo "ski ball" HR.
Tawata had runners on base throughout the game, but wouldn't allow a run or anything significant through six innings. He struck out the side for his first three Ks of the game in the bottom of 6th. Bats were also non-existent against Wakui as it was a 1-0 game in the 7th.

The biggest chance for the Marines came in the bottom of the 7th where a leadoff single was bunted over to second base. Tawata would walk Shogo Nakamura, but Kazuya Fukuura would hit into a 4-6-3 double play and end the threat.

Wakui looked like he'd get through the 8th inning unscathed, but with two outs and two strikes, Shogo Akiyama took one into the Marines Oendan for a two-run HR. Tawata would cruise to his second career shutout win, with a clean 8th and only giving up one base runner in the 9th to end the two game skid.

Lions 3, Marines 0

Game note:

-Sosuke Genda picked up a stolen base with his 29th of the season.

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The final game of the series had Stephen Fife making a start against Kota Futaki. It would be the Lions on the board first after Fife escaped a early jam. Tonosaki hit a triple to the right field gap while Ginjiro Sumitani plated him with a double.

A good defensive play from Akiyama throwing a runner out at home plate would save a run in the second. Asamura added a run in the 5th with a sacrifice fly, but trouble came for Fife in the bottom of the 6th. Shogo Nakamura hit one to the gap to tie the game and Suzuki pulled one down the RF line to give the Marines a 3-2 lead. Fife cruised through five innings, but it would be the 6th wehre he couldn't get an out.

This looked like another game where the Lions would lose by a run as Futaki pitched seven innings. However, Naoya Masuda took the 9th and gave life. Asamura worked a long at-bat and got an infield single with a head slide. A successful hit and run put Asamura at third with Yamakawa getting a single and no outs.

Kuriyama tied the game with a sacrifice fly and Shuta Tonosaki secured a modasho with an infield single of his own. Sumitani picked up his second RBI as 3B coach Toshifumi Baba made an aggressive send to the plate, but pinch runner Fumikazu Kimura was safe at the plate with his foot on the bag in time.

What happened next was a confusing play. Mizuguchi failed to get a bunt down on  a suicide squeeze attempt and Tonosaki was in a pickle. The catcher would miss the tag and Kuan-Yu Chen couldn't tag him out as Tonosaki's foot was on home plate first. This could have been ruled as being outside the base paths, but it wasn't. Kaneko added an RBI single to make it 6-3.

T. Masuda closed this one out with a strikeout. Interestingly enough, the game ended with a caught stealing as Ginjiro Sumitani would nab Shohei Kato at second to finish it.

Lions 6, Marines 3

Game notes:

-The Lions finished 10-2 at Zozotown Marine Field. It was the final game in 2017 for the Lions at this stadium.

-Kaneko would bat leadoff while Akiyama would hit third.

-To make room for Fife on the ichi-gu roster, Frank Garces would be deactivated.

-By pitching in the 8th, Schlitter earned his first career win.

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It wasn't the greatest week, but it wasn't the worst by finishing .500. As long as this team doesn't collapse or go South by a lot, the Lions are in good shape. Fife's start in particular was encouraging since we don't know the health of Ken Togame besides him being out for an estimated two weeks. The Lions would be happy if he goes five frames with minimal damage.

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