2017 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: Wolfe prevents a winless end to April

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The Saitama Seibu Lions would have their first six game week of the 2017 season. They would start in Kansai against the Orix Buffaloes then come home to face the Chiba Lotte Marines.

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Game 1 against Orix in Kobe featured Brandon Dickson facing Shinsaburo Tawata. It would be another slow start for the second-year Lions pitcher as Orix smashed three runs off him in the first inning. Takahiro Okada and Brent Morel would have timely hits to give the early lead to the Buffaloes. Okada drove in another run during the third inning as Eiichi Koyano scored from first.

The Lions wouldn't go down without a fight. They were able to tie the game with four runs in the top of the 5th. Shogo Akiyama, Sosuke Genda and Ernesto Mejia would deliver timely hits with Genda having a double scoring two.

Unfortunately, the downward spiral for Tawata continued as he gave up a solo HR to Okada in the bottom of the 5th, giving Orix the lead for good. The Lions had two chances late in the game to tie it. The top of the 7th had two runners on base against Kazumasa Yoshida. but Mejia would strikeout to end the threat.

Ginjiro Sumitani would fail on a bunt attempt resulting in a double play in the 9th inning. However, Akiyama was on second for one last gasp. Genda would ground out and come up short with a head slide as Orix snapped the Lions' four game win streak.

Buffaloes 5, Lions 4

Game notes:

-Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura would sit out as a healthy scratch due to ankle inflammation.  Shuta Tonosaki would play 3B as a result.

-Takumi Kuriyama would pinch hit for Hotaka Yamkawa in the 8th inning.

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Game 2 at Kyocera Dome had Kona Takahashi against Chihiro Kaneko. The game would be scoreless until the 5th inning, where Takahashi saw the order for the third time of the night. Yuki Miyazaki would draw first blood with a two-RBI single past a diving Shuta Tonosaki. Masahiro Nishino followed that up with an RBI triple down the RF line. Ryoichi Adachi added a fourth run with an RBI single with the Lions infield playing in.

The Lions responded in the top of the 6th as Genda had an RBI triple and Asamura plated him with an RBI groundout, but it wasn't enough. Kaneko would go the distance for a complete game, scattering four hits with two walks. The Lions final chance came in the top of the 9th with Asamura on base, but Okawari-kun would hit into a double play and end the game.

Buffaloes 4, Lions 3

Game notes:

-Okawari-kun returned to the lineup as a DH with Tonosaki playing 3B.

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For the final game of the series, Ken Togame would make his first start of 2017 against Takahiro Matsuba. Hiroyuki Nakajima would plate the first run of the game in the 1st inning as he would walk with the bases loaded.

Orix picked up a second run on an RBI double by Shunta Goto in the bottom of the 4th. Togame didn't have a brilliant outing, but it was good enough to give the Lions a chance with 6.2 innings and only two runs allowed on six hits.

The Lions tied the game in the top of the 6th with a two-run RBI double by Okawari-kun. Orix loaded the bases in the top of the 7th adn Shota Takekuma was brought in for the jam. Adachi would end up flying out to LF and end the threat.

In the top of the 9th, Takumi Kuriyama would get a walk as a pinch hitter and Kyohei Nagae would be on second as a pinch runner. Unfortunately, Fumikazu Kimura and Tonosaki would strikeout to squander a chance.

The bottom of the 9th featured Goto securing a modasho with a double down the RF line. With two outs, Koyano would pinch hit and hit a chopper to the infield. Okawari-kun forced an ill-advised throw to 1B and threw it away, having Goto score from second base and ending the game in Sayonara fashion. It was the first walkoff loss of the season.

Buffaloes 3, Lions 2

Game note:

-Yamakawa would go 0-3 as the DH, lowering his average to .115.

-To make room for Togame, Shogo Saito was deactivated as the corresponding move.

-This is the first time the Lions have gone 0-5 against Orix since 1980 (Blue Wave).

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The opening game against Chiba from MetLife Dome featured Hideaki Wakui against Yusei Kikuchi. It would be a classic pitcher's duel, with both players going seven innings. Asamura grounded into a double play for the first run of the game, but the Marines would answer with two runs in the top of the 6th.

Takashi Ogino would get a timely hit down the RF line to plate one and an error from Ernesto Mejia made it 2-1 Marines. The Lions would answer quickly with a chance, but Shuta Tonosaki made the least of it with a fielder's choice, beating out a double play and scoring a runner from third.

Both teams would be in a dead lock as both bullpens entered in the 8th. The Lions bullpen only gave up one hit in five innings, while the Marines scattered several. Naoya Masuda left the door open for a walkoff, but Asamura hit into a 5-3 double play.

In the bottom of the 12th, the Lions had two runners on with one out. However, Hotaka Yamakawa would strikeout and Takumi Kuriyama flied out to end the game as pinch hitters. It would be the first tie in the Pacific League for the 2017 season and the Lions ended a three game losing streak.

Lions 2, Marines 2

Game note:

-Kikuchi had 10 strikeouts and Genda would have a modasho.

-Naoto Watanabe was the starting DH and went 2-3 before leaving the game and Kyohei Nagae entering as a pinch runner.

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For the second game against the Marines, it would be Kota Futaki against Ryoma Nogami. It would be an awful start from the beginning for Nogami as Seiya Inoue would clear the bases on a gapper in the bottom of the first to make it 3-0. Daichi Suzuki hit a solo home run in the top of the 3rd to make it 4-0.

Kota Futaki shut down the Lions for the most part, but a chance came in the bottom of the 8th as our old friend Tsutomu Ito left him in. Asamura would get an RBI single, forcing Tatsuya Uchi to come in. Mejia would get a base hit with the bases loaded and plate two more runs, but as he tried to get in a rundown, the Marines saw Okawari-kun trying to score and tagged him out at the plate.

With the game within one run, Shota Takekuma would ruin any chance of a comeback as Ryo Miki hit a two run blast, securing another Lions defeat.

Marines 6, Lions 3

Game notes:

-Daichi Mizuguchi was called up and started at 2B with Asamura playing 1B. Ernesto Mejia would be the DH. Mizuguchi would go 1-4 with a stolen base.

-Shinsaburo Tawata was the corresponding deactivation move to make room for Mizuguchi.

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For the final game of the week, month and series, Brian Wolfe would hope to salvage something against Yuki Karakawa. Shogo Akiyama would start the scoring with a solo HR in the bottom of the third into the Marines Oendan. Okawari-kun would also get a timely hit to centerfield to plate Sosuke Genda, making it 2-0.

Wolfe would be efficient and stay on cruise control throughout the day. It would only take 69 pitches to get through seven scoreless innings as he allowed two hits and had two strikeouts. Karakawa had better results against the Lions compared to his last outing, but allowed 10 hits as Seibu couldn't capitalize on all the chances available.

Brian Schlitter had a clean 8th inning while Tatsushi Masuda gave up a solo HR to Kei Hosoya in the top of the 9th. That run would be the only blemish in what was a solid pitching outing by the Lions staff. It would snap a streak of five games without a win.

Lions 2, Marines 1

Game notes:

-The Lions are 9-0 in games when Brian Wolfe starts dating back to last season.

-Naoto Watanabe would start at 3B as Okawari-kun was the DH. He would go 0-4.

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This was a brutal week where the Lions were coming up short by one run in three of the four losses with the other being decided late in the 9th inning. The starting pitching hasn't been bad and we can only hope it was an exception in the bats being cold.

It will be the first series in Fukuoka for 2017 coming up for the Lions and it won't be easy. The Hawks look to get into A-class, while the Buffaloes and Eagles are both on top for now.

Tawata is also taking a break from ichi-gun baseball for at least a week. We can only hope he can regain his form from the second half of 2016/ There's plenty of work to be done.

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Graveyard Baseball Podcast: Lions ŌenDEN Episode 17

This is the 17th episode of the Saitama Seibu Lions OenDEN podcast. Christian and Wes return with another monthly episode discussing all things Lions in English.

Graveyard Baseball goes over the Lions offense, defense, Manager Hatsuhiko Tsuji and the pitching staff. Other topics include the marketing, Pacific League observations and other tidbits regarding NPB news.

R.I.P. Wayne Graczyk.

We apologize in advanced for any mispronunciations or possible errors in this show. Episode 17 was recorded on April 22.

Seibu Lions profile, as featured on The Hanshin Tigers website.

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Click here if the embed doesn't work. Click here to download.

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Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall 

2017 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: Asamura hits the first Sayonara of the season

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For the first game in Omiya, It would be Wataru Karashima against Kona Takahashi. The Eagles struck first on a base hit by Takero Okajima as the team was able to hang on to that lead the rest of the way from the second inning.

Takahashi would go seven innings with only two runs allows, including another on a fielder's choice. However, he scattered eight hits and only had three strikeouts on the night. The Lions bats would remain dead with a handful of chances having a runners on second base in three different innings.

Karashima went six innings with eight strikeouts and three hits allowed. Frank Herrmann allowed an early hit, but the Lions bats couldn't come through. Yuki Matsui then shut the door in the 9th inning with an easy frame. It would be the third time in 2017 that the Lions have been shutout and second in the last three games.

Eagles 2, Lions 0

Game notes:

-Shogo Noda was called up and Hirotaka Koishi was deactivated as a corresponding move. Noda would pitch the ninth inning striking out one and allowing one hit.

-Hotaka Yamkawa would be used as a pinch hitter as Naoto Watanabe was the DH. He would ground into a double play.

-Sosuke Genda recorded his first error of the season.

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Game 2 from Metlife Dome would featured a matchup from the previous week with Shinsaburo Tawata against Takahiro Norimoto. Tawata would concede the first run on leadoff HR to Eigoro Mogi. It looked like another bad outing for Tawata to come, but he only gave up two runs in the first two innings. Carlos Peguero would smash another home run in the second inning for a 3-0 Eagles lead in the 5th.

The Lions answered back in the bottom of the 6th with a sacrifice fly by Asamura. Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura would then hit a no-doubt HR to bring the game within one.

Tawata would go six innings with three earned runs and three strikeouts. Zelous Wheeler would give the Eagles a run back in the top of the 7th with an RBI double off Tatsuya Oishi as Noda gave him inherited runners.

It would take the bottom of the 8th to create a chance. Shotaro Tashiro reached base on an infield single that bounced off the mound and Norimoto's foot. Asamura would get a bloop single to fall just out of Mogi's reach to bring the game within one run again. Mejia would hit one on the button right to Wheeler at 3B, but a short bobble gave him just enough time to beat out a throw and tie the game, scoring Shogo Akiyama from third. The Eagles arguably left Norimoto in too long as he stayed through the 8th inning.

The Lions blew two chances in both the bottom of the 9th and 10th with a runner in scoring position. Kazuhisa Makita would have two scoreless innings in extras while Shota Takekuma took the 12th inning with no fanfare. Needing only one run, the Lions would face Kohei Morihara in the bottom of the 12th knowing they couldn't lose.

Akiyama would get a leadoff single before Sosuke Genda struck out. As a result, he wouldn't ground into a double play after initially showing bunt. Asamura would battle Morihara for multiple pitches until it was full count and he would hit a gapper to plate Akiyama from 1B for the first sayonara win of the 2017 season.

Lions 5, Eagles 4 (12 innings)

Game notes:

-Akiyama and Asamura would have modashos with their third hits coming in the 12th inning.

-Brian Schlitter and Tatsushi Masuda would take the 8th and 9th innings, respectively to keep the game within reach.

-Naoto Watanabe would DH with Hotaka Yamakawa coming in to PH in the 10th inning. Yamkawa would line out with a runner on second.

-Shuta Tonosaki would play LF with Kuriyama still missing. He went 2-5.

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In Game 1 against the Fighters, Yusei Kikuchi would face Naoyuki Uwasawa. The Lions bats were on fire from the start as Akiyama smashed an opposite field leadoff home run to begin the game. A sacrifice fly from Okawari-kun would double the lead at 2-0.

Okawari-kun doubled the lead again with a two-run home run in the bottom of the third and put this game away early. Sosuke Genda would also hit an RBI triple in the fifth inning. Asamura would plate him to make it 6-0.

Akiyama hit a second home run in the 6th inning to put icing on the cake and the Lions took advantage of a Fighters error in the outfield for two more runs in the 8th, making the lead insurmountable.

Kikuchi was as productive as the Lions bats were. He would give up a leadoff single to Haruki Nishikawa, but that was the only hit he gave up on the night. Kikuchi took 144 pitches to earn the shutout with only two walks and 12 strikeouts. It would be his first shutout since 2013 and the fourth in his career.

Lions 9, Fighters 0

Game notes:

-Akiyama picked up another modasho in the 8th inning with a single.

-Ernesto Mejia went down after a foul tip hit his knee. He would stay in the game, but leave early.

-Asamura took a pitch to the ribs from Uwasawa, but remained in the game.

-Tonosaki once again started in LF.

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Game 2 would feature Ryoma Nogami against Kohei Arihara. The Lions would once again jump out to an early 1-0 lead as Akiyama dropped a bloop single in the third inning.

The fifth inning is where things were broken wide open. Tonosaki would start it with a four pitch walk to get the party started. Ginjiro Sumitani would then plate him on a gapper after Tonosaki advanced on a groundout by Shotaro Tashiro.

Genda plated Sumitani on a single and things would only get worse. A wild pitch on a ball four to Asamura added another. Okawari-kun ripped an RBI single and that ended Arihara's day after 4.1 innings. Mejia would single off Yuya Ishii and then Hotaka Yamakawa erased any doubt once again. This time he would hit a three-run home run to cap off an 8-run 5th inning.

Nogami had all the run support in the world, but he himself had a brilliant outing of seven scoreless innings and five strikeouts, limited the Fighters to only one walk and three hits. Kentaro Fukukura would pitch the final two innings allowing one run, but it was a strong outing by everyone once again for the third straight game.

Lions 9, Fighters 1

Game notes:

-Sosuke Genda had two errors again.

-Yamakawa started at 1B with Mejia as the DH. Kuriyama sat out once again as Tonosaki played LF.

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In Game 3, it would be a battle of foreign pitchers with Luis Mendoza against Brian Wolfe. It would once again be the Lions to get an early lead thanks to a leadoff HR by Shogo Akiyama.  Okawari-kun grounded into a double play to pickup a second run.

After scoring a run in the second, the Fighters tied the game in the third with an RBI double from Kensuke Kondo. The game would remain tied until the top of the 5th inning. Akiyama couldn't catch a ball from Haruki Nishikawa and the ball would skid past him. Fumikazu Kimura didn't get to the ball fast enough and it would allow Nishikawa to go to third base. The Fighters would take the lead as Go Matsumoto sneaked a single past Genda as the infield was playing in.

Wolfe would limit the damage with an important double play on Sho Nakata, who returned in his first game from injury. It wasn't his greatest outing, but Wolfe was able to go five innings and give the Lions a chance.

In the bottom of the 6th with Mendoza facing the order for the third time, the Lions responded as Genda picked up a leadoff single by a bunt. Asamura reached base and Mejia plated them both with a double down the left field line. Tonosaki added another with a bloop single making it 5-3.

In the bottom of the 7th, it nearly looked like the Lions would squander a chance with runners on second and no outs. However, with Okawari-kun up against Keisuke Tanimoto, the outcome would be perfect. Okawari-kun hit one off the wall in the gap scoring both runners to make it 7-3. After a walk to Mejia, Shotaro Tashiro would come in to pinch hit and hit his first career home run for three runs into the Fighters Oendan putting the game away.

As a bonus, Shogo Akiyama hit a two-run home run to secure a modasho and a second HR of the game in the 9th.

Lions 12, Fighters 3

Game notes:

-Tonosaki started in LF once again with Yamakawa at 1B and Mejia at DH.

-Noda and Kentaro Fukukura took the late innings in a mop up role.

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The Lions are red hot ending the week with a four game win streak. Like anything, it's nice to beat the Fighters after all the struggling they've had against them in the past. The bats were on fire, the pitching was mostly good and there's some life in these guys.

Each week ahead will be tough, but so far, so good. The errors were strange as the one negative, but it nicely gets covered up when the team wins.

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Sixth Man: Who is the Lions sixth starter?

The Saitama Seibu Lions have gotten away with having no six-game week until the end of April. for the first four weeks of the season (counting Opening Day Weekend), the Lions were able to roll with five starters with Yusei Kikuchi, Ryoma Nogami, Brian Wolfe, Shinsaburo Tawata and Kona Takahashi.

The final week of April is finally here, meaning a decision has to be made. Who takes the sixth spot? Here is a logical look at who could be there as the best candidates possible. For the record, there is one foreign spot available with only Wolfe, Ernesto Mejia and Brian Schlitter taking the roster spaces.

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Frank Garces: Garces has been used as both a reliever and starter when in MiLB and MLB. The Lions had him start a handful of games in the preseason, However, it's likely that the Lions like him as a reliever for this season.

Alexis Candelario: Candelario was a low-risk signing by the Lions, but things do not look encouraging at the ni-gun level where he has struggled. At best, Candelario will probably be a spot starter for one or two opportunities he needs to make the most of in 2017.

Keisuke Honda: Honda received a spot start at the end of the 2016 season and had a strong offseason with both the U23 Samurai Japan team and the Melbourne Aces in ABL. He is likely to come up at some time this season, but he might not be ready yet for the ichi-gun level. So far, he has been productive down in ni-gun as a starter.

Chun-Lin Kuo: A forgotten import from Taiwan, Kuo spent the entire spring training session with the national team in preparation for the WBC. Unfortunately, Kuo didn't impress in his outing against Israel and it's likely the negative momentum carries over to the Lions management. Like Garces, Kuo could be seen as a reliever or spot starter, but not likely to be in the rotation full-time.

Yasuo Sano: A second-round pick from 2014, Sano has been a spot starter in the past, but is more likely to be a reliever.

Isamu Sato: Sato started a handful of games in 2016 after a strong ni-gun. However, he is likely serving a suspension by the team after getting into an auto accident in the offseason. He has not appeared in a single ni-gun game for 2017.

Ken Togame: The Lions have seen ups and downs with Togame in the rotation. He had an awful 2016 season, but has a chance to rebound after a strong start in ni-gun for 2017. He is the most experienced NPB starter among the group of Lions.

Ichiro Tamura: The Lions' 6th round pick from 2016 has starting experience, but is likely seen as a reliever with the team and is too raw for an immediate ichi-gun start.

Tatsuya Imai: This would be extreme to play a first round pick drafted out of high school this early. Imai will likely get his feet wet sometime in 2017, but he is still recovering from an injury he suffered in spring training and has taken it slow in ni-gun with only one inning pitched at the time of this writing.

Start the Tuesday starter on short rest and play him on Sunday: This is the extreme option which happened last year with Takayuki Kishi. A controversial choice, Kishi would end up tearing his adductor muscle and miss a significant amount of time before it was too late. If the trend continued based on starts, Kona Takahashi would be the pitcher for this option.

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Outlook:

It's likely that Ken Togame probably starts the sixth game in the week starting on Tuesday, April 25. Togame is the most experienced and has the endurance to last for a whole season. The question is, which Togame shows up? He has not had two consistent seasons in his NPB career, good or bad. By trends, he would have a productive season in 2017 as it is an "odd-numbered year".

An announcement will come sooner or later, but right now, the Lions rotation has shown there's ups and downs with this unit. There's plenty of reasons to be optimistic, especially with the bullpen depth and offensive flare, but this season is a marathon, not a sprint.

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2017 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: Mejia's HR steals series in winning road week

In their first road week of the season, the Saitama Seibu Lions would have to play exclusively on the road against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and the Chiba Lotte Marines.  How did they do?

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After the first game of the series that was scheduled to be played in Koriyama, Fukushima was washed out, the two teams would start their series in Sendai on Wednesday with Shinsaburo Tawata making his second start of the series against Rakuten's ace, Takahiro Norimoto.

It would be the Eagles who would tee off early on Tawata with Carlos Peguero crushing a 2-2 breaking ball from Tawata that caught too much of the plate as it would be his fourth home run of the season to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead two batters in. After retiring the struggling Zelous Wheeler and Japhet Amador, Tawata would then give up three straight singles with Takero Okajima getting an RBI-single to make it 3-0. Then Hideto Asamura would make a fielding error on a ball up the middle which would load the bases for Motohiro Shima, and Tawata would get him to fly out and end the disastrous inning with only three runs given up.

With three early runs, the Eagles probably felt pretty good about the prospects of this game with Norimoto on the mound for them. However, as early as the third inning, it was clear that Norimoto didn't have his best stuff in this game, as he'd give two runs right back to the Lions. Fumikazu Kimura out of the 9-spot in the order would leadoff the inning with a single up the middle. He'd hustle his way to third after Norimoto bounced a pitch to the next batter and the ball bounced far enough away from Rakuten catcher, Motohiro Shima to allow him to go to third. From there, Shogo Akiyama would grind a walk, one of four on the day. Norimoto would strikeout Sosuke Genda, but Hideto Asamura would line a single the other way to bring home Kimura and make it 3-1. Norimoto would then walk Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura to load the bases, and Takumi Kuriyama would bring home Akiyama with a sac fly to cut the score to 3-2.

In the top of the fourth, the Lions would take the lead for good with Naoto Watanabe grinding Norimoto for a nine-pitch at-bat that would result in a double after Rakuten's outfield misplayed the sure hit and allowed Watanabe to race to second. Masatoshi Okada would bunt Watanabe over to third, and then Kimura would drop one in for an RBI-single to tie the game at 3-3. Both of the early rallies for the Lions were created out of the bottom of the order. Shogo Akiyama would then walk, and Sosuke Genda would single to load the bases for Hideto Asamura. Asamura would single home Kimura and that would give the Lions a 4-3 lead.

With the Lions in front, Shinsaburo Tawata would go into the fourth but would fail to record any more outs. Shima would start the bottom of the fourth off with a single and Eigoro Mogi would walk and with Carlos Peguero coming to the plate Tawata would be pulled in favor of Tatsuya Oishi. Oishi would get Peguero to ground into a 4-6-3 double play and that would give the Lions a huge lifeline out of the inning as the Eagles would fail to score.

The Lions would tag two more runs on the board in Norimoto's final inning with Watanabe getting on thanks to a throwing error from Zelous Wheeler. Norimoto would walk Fumikazu Kimura to make it two on and two outs and set up the big hit from Shogo Akiyama. Akiyama would hit a swerving ball into the corner that would direct off the wall and score both baserunners to give the Lions a 6-3 lead off Akiyama's 2-run double.

This would effectively KO Norimoto as he was pulled after the completion of the fifth. From there, Oishi would pitch one more inning of relief for the Lions and from then on, it would be Okawari-kun who would own the latter part of the game with two home runs to turn the game into a rout. Okawari-kun would hit a solo shot in the sixth to make it 7-3, and then in the 9th, he'd sneak one just over the right field wall for a 3-run homer in the 9th to make the score 10-3. Japhet Amador would hit his first home run of the season for Rakuten in the bottom of the 9th to complete the final score of 10-5 Lions.

Shuta Takekuma, Kazuhisa Makita, Brian Schlitter, and Hirotaka Koishi would each toss an inning of relief with Koishi the only pitcher to surrender any runs.

Lions 10, Eagles 5

Game Notes:

-Okawari-kun hit career home runs number 331, and 332 which stands as the franchise record for home runs in a Lions jersey with Kazuhiro Kiyohara and Koji Akiyama behind him at 329 and 328 respectively

-Takahiro Norimoto threw 71 of his 116 pitches for strikes but the Lions still grinded four walks off him thanks to long at-bats from Naoto Watanabe and Shogo Akiyama. In total, the Lions drew seven walks in this game.

-Naoto Watanabe started at DH for his first game of 2017 and went 3-5.

-The makeup game from the rain out in Fukushima prefecture will unfortunately be in Sendai on September 14.

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The week would then shift to the new name Zozo Marine Stadium in Chiba to face the Marines. It would be Kota Futaki vs Yusei Kikuchi in the series opener.

It would be a slow start, but Kikuchi showed off some impressive fielding with an early 1-3 double play. The game would remain scoreless as the Lions squandered a leadoff triple by Sosuke Genda in the top of the 4th. Asamura would flyout, Okawari-kun struck out and Kuriyama would flyout to ruin the chance.

Kikuchi got a Houdini of his own by allowing the first two batters on base on the bottom of the inning. He would then strike out Kei Hosoya and Matt Duffy while getting Tatsuhiro Tamura to groundout and end the threat.

There wouldn't be any scoring until the 6th inning, where Hosoya picked up an RBI fielder's choice beating a double play attempt by the Lions. Futaki would finally budge as Okawari-kun took one deep for a solo HR in the top of the 7th.

It would be another jam for Kikuchi for the bottom of the 7th as Tamura would earn a leadoff single and they Marines would bunt him over to second base. Shota Ishimine would get a bloop single to fall and Chiba retook the lead at 2-1.

Kikuchi would end the day with eight strikeouts and four walks while giving up six hits over the course of seven innings. Futaki would also go seven innings as he scattered four hits and had nine strikeouts.

They Lions would have their best chance of the night in the 8th inning as Akiyama got an infield-single and stole second base with two outs. However, Genda would hit a weak flyball to end any chance to score against Tatsuya Uchi.

There would be one final gasp for something to happen in the top of the 9th with Naoya Masuda pitching for the Marines. Asamura hit a leadoff single, but Okawari-kun and Shogo Saito (who came in as a sub for Kuriyama) would strikeout. With a full count, Mejia would hit an improbable two-run home run to deep left-center field as the Lions were one strike away from losing the game to give the team a 3-2 lead.

Despite the home run, the game was far from over as Tatsushi Masuda took the bottom of the 9th. Duffy created some early trouble with a leadoff double and Taiga Hirasawa would be pinch running for him. Even with Tamura showing bunt, Masuda would walk him on 5 pitches. Ikuhiro Kiyota would move both runners by 90 feet with a sacrifice bunt of his own to put the winning run in scoring position.

T. Masuda and the Lions would choose to intentionally walk substitute Ryo Miki and load the bases with one out. On a full count Masuda would get the ground ball needed from Kazuya Fukuura to force a 4-3 double play and create the ultimate Houdini and end the game. The Lions would win their fourth consecutive game.

Lions 3, Marines 2

Game note:

-Hotaka Yamakawa would start at DH. He went 1-4.

-Oishi would pitch a clean 8th inning and earn a win as a result. His second consecutive victory.

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Game 2 would feature our old friend Hideaki Wakui facing Ryoma Nogami. Both sides would bring a classic pitcher's duel as Nogami had only one blemish. He would give up a double Seiya Inoue and a single from Hosoya in the bottom of the 4th inning.

Wakui would scatter four hits through seven scoreless innings with eight strikeouts on the day. Nogami went eight innings with only three hits allowed and five strikeouts.

The best chance came for the Lions in the top of the 7th with two runners on. However, Hotaka Yamkawa would ground into a fielder's choice and end the threat. Like the previous night, there was one final chance in the top of the 9th against N. Masuda and Asamura on first base, but Okawari-kun would also ground into a fielder's choice and the Marines snapped the Lions four-game winning streak.

Marines 1, Lions 0

Game note:

-Shogo Saito started in LF in place of Kuriyama, who was resting from exiting on Friday with inflammation in the right calf.

-Nogami would earn a complete game in a losing effort.

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The rubber match would have Yuki Karakawa against Brian Wolfe. This one would be a laugher from the beginning as the Lions jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to back-to-back RBI singles from Asamura and Okawari-kun. With two outs in the 2nd, Genda would score from first on a gaffe read by Shota Ishimine for the third run.

Hotaka Yamakawa put the exclamation point on this game from a two-run blast in the third inning, where it ended Karakawa's day. Karakawa would give up eight hits and five walks in 2.2 innings pitched.

Wolfe would go on to win his 7th straight start dating back to last season. He pitched six scoreless innings and scattered four hits with an early Houdini in the first.

Asamura would be the player of the game with four hits and five RBIs and the Lions took the series with a big win.

Lions 10, Marines 2

Game notes:

-Kuriyama sat out again resting the calf muscle. Shuta Tonosaki would start in LF in his place.

-Mejia, Genda and Sumitani had modashos and the Lions had 16 hits total. It would be Genda's first career three-hit game.

-Besides the home run, Yamkawa would walk three times.

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While this is officially the first time through the order for the Pacific League, the Lions have only seen the Eagles once. That will change as they face them next on the schedule, but the bats did just enough to steal one from the Marines on Friday.

Like anything, this team is competing despite Tawata's struggles. It's early, but the bats continue to be alive for the most part and Genda is living up to the hype as a defensive whiz.

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You again? Seibu Lions who were teammates prior to NPB

The Lions took three players from Fuji University for three consecutive years. Tawata, Yamakawa and Tonosaki were all teammates at one point at the University level.  Photo credit: Hotaka Yamakawa's Instagram

Sports can bring fun connections. Sometimes its through work, education or even the journalist level. At other times, it's where the players spent time prior to making it to where they are today.

Several Saitama Seibu Lions can say they were teammates with another player at some point before making it to NPB. It's common to be an opponent, but teammates? That's hard to come by at any level in North America with a handful of stories.

Here are the Lions who knew each other as teammates prior to being in NPB:

Note: We're only counting high school, university and industrial league level baseball.  We have no data/evidence on where players grew up prior to high school minus a handful of players. 

This list was constructed with timelines knowing how long time is at Japanese Universities, High schools and potentially Industrial League teams. The Japanese NPB roster site shows every team a player was with prior to NPB from HS, University and Industrial or an Independent Leagues. 

Osaka Toin High School (Osaka): 2B Hideto Asamura and C Mastoshi Okada: Most people know the Lions and their connection to Osaka Toin, but the four players were drafted at different points minus 2013, when Tomoya Mori and Okada were taken in the same class. Okada was teammates with Asamura from 2006-2007 and he would later go on to an industrial league team in Osaka Gas. Asamura would be a Koshien champion in 2008 before the Lions drafted him in the third round that fall.

Fun fact: Okada and Asamura can say they were teammates with Sho Nakata of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. Nakata was a pitcher in high school and Okada was his battery partner. 

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Tashiro and Akiyama were teammates at University. Photo from Tashiro's Instagram

Hachinohe University (Aomori): OF Shogo Akiyama and OF Shotaro Tashiro

Akiyama and Tashiro are not from Aomori prefecture, but they went to the same school in Hachinohe University. Tashiro is a Hokkaido native and the Lions drafted him in the 5th round of 2011. Akiyama was a third round draft pick in 2010.

Fun fact: Takahiro Shiomi of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles was the ace pitcher during the time Akiyama and Tashiro were at Hachinohe. Akiyama was the team's cleanup hitter.  

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Yokohama Sogakukan High School (Kanagawa): OF Shogo Akiyama and OF Ryo Sakata

Akiyama and Sakata are two years apart, but they were teammates for one year in 2004. Sakata would go to a university in Hokkaido and was drafted in the fourth round of 2008.

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Daichi Kogyo Gakuin University (Kagoshima): P Kentaro Fukukura, IF Nien Ting Wu and P Tsubasa Kokuba

The Lions took Fukukura in 2013 while Wu and Kokuba were drafted in 2015. Osaka Toin and Daichi Kogyo are the two most common schools among the Lions roster with four players each having a connection.

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Fuji University has a display of alumni who made it to NPB. The Lions had three straight players taken. Photo via Yamakawa's Instagram. 

Fuji University (Iwate): IF Hotaka Yamakawa, IF Shuta Tonosaki and P Shinsaburo Tawata

The Lions took a player from Fuji University for three consecutive years from 2013-2015. It would be Yamakawa (2013), Tonosaki (2014) and Tawata (2015) going back-to-back-to-back. The Lions nearly had a fourth player added had they taken Taiki Ono, who was drafted by the Hanshin Tigers in the second round of 2016.

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Nissan Motors (Kanagawa): P Ryoma Nogami and OF Masato Kumashiro

Kumashiro has a rather unique career with how he played for two different industrial league teams. His first was with Nissan Motors and he saw Nogami for one season in 2008. Nogami was the team's ace before he was drafted later that fall while Kumashiro was also a pitcher. Kumashiro converted to outfielder with his second Oji Paper Industries, his second industrial league team and was drafted by the Lions in 2010.

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Chubo Shogyo High School (Okinawa): IF Hotaka Yamakawa and P Shinsaburo Tawata

Not only were Tawata and Yamakawa teammates at University, but also in high school as they are Okinawa natives. It was only in 2009 when they were together in high school. They're the only duo on the Lions who can say they were teammates at the HS, University and professional level.

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Seino Unyu (Gifu): P Tomomi Takahashi and P Shogo Noda

Seino Unyu, known as Seino Transportation in English, held Noda and Takahashi together in 2012. Takahashi would be drafted by the Lions in 2012 when Noda spent his first year with the company. Noda, a Kagoshima native, spent several years with Seino Unyu until being drafted in 2015 by the Lions in the third round.

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2017 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: Imports, pitching take series against the Hawks

The Saitama Seibu Lions opened MetLife Dome with a five-game home stand to start the 2017 home season. They would see the Orix Buffaloes and Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.

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Once again, the Lions would be playing their home opener against the Orix Buffaloes as second year starter, Shinsaburo Tawata took the hill for the Lions against the Buffaloes' veteran foreign pitcher, Brandon Dickson.

In the early going, the Lions would strike fast against Brandon Dickson with two runs in the bottom of the 1st. This was all thanks to Dickson's control issues as he gave up a single to Shogo Akiyama followed by walks to Shotaro Tashiro and Hideto Asamura to load the bases for Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura. Okawari-kun would hit a long drive to center field that was easily deep enough to score Akiyama on a sacrifice fly. The Lions would get their second run after a fielding error by Dickson off a chopper hit by Takumi Kuriyama to the right of the pitcher's mound with Tashiro scoring.

The Buffaloes would answer back in the top of the 3rd with two runs of their own as Tawata had trouble missing bats and his overall control.  Shunta Goto would start the inning off with a double and then Kenya Watasuki would bunt him over to third. Tawata would then hit Ryoichi Adachi to put runners at the corners with one out. Masahiro Nashino would then double home Orix's first run of the game and then Eiichi Koyano would trade an out for a run with an RBI-groundout.

Both starters would then dance around trouble before the fifth inning where both starters would see the end of their days. Things were much worse for Tawata as he gave up a backbreaking 3-run home run to Stefen Romero and that would end his day with a total of 6 earned runs in his season debut. In the bottom of the 5th, Asamura would bring one back with a solo home run for his second of the year but that would be the last tally and after the 5th inning, Seibu would not see another hit as Orix's bullpen in relief of Dickson pitched four perfect innings. Hiroyuki Nakajima would punish his old team with a solo home run in the 8th to complete the final score off of Kentaro Fukukura and Shogo Noda pitched one inning of mop up duty for the Lions.

Buffaloes 7, Lions 3

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In Game 2 against Orix, Takahiro Matsuba would take on Kona Takahashi. The game would be scoreless until the 4th inning, when Romero would hit a solo home run to the left field oendan. Goto would add another with a sacrifice fly.

The Lions had several runners on base and their best chance came in the bottom of the 5th with runners on the corners. However, Masatoshi Okada would ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the frame.

Matsuba would scatter a total of 7 hits over 8 scoreless innings to earn the victory as he only recorded one strikeout on the day. It would be the second straight Lions loss.

Buffaloes 2, Lions 0

Game notes:

-Shogo Noda was the corresponding deactivation move to make room for Kona Takahashi on the 28-man roster.

-This was the first new lineup for Tsuji, as Genda would bat second, Kuriyama was in LF and Hotaka Yamakawa became the DH. Okada would also start at catcher for the day.

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For Game 1 against the Hawks, Yusei Kikuchi would take on Tsuyoshi Wada. Softbank would score three times in the top of the 2nd with a solo home run by Seiichi Uchikawa. After it looked like the Lions could get out of a jam, Mejia would misfield a chopper that would roll into right field with two more runs eventually scoring.

The Lions got a run back after Sosuke Genda stole second base and Okawari-kun plated him with a single in the bottom of the 4th. Shotaro Tashiro would hit an RBI triple in the fifth inning to make it a one run game.

Kikuchi would mostly limit the damage on the night, but allowed a second solo home run to Uchikawa in the top of the 6th to double the Hawks lead. Uchikawa would have a modasho on the evening.

This game didn't come without a chance as the Lions loaded the bases in the bottom of the 8th against Sho Iwasaki. However, Asamura would strikeout and Okawari-kun would flyout to end any threat. The Lions would go quietly in the 9th as Dennis Sarfate shut the door and the team lost their third straight game.

Hawks 4, Lions 2

Game notes:

-Takumi Kuriyama played his 1,500th career game and he was honored briefly for reaching this milestone.

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In Game 2 against the Hawks, it would be Ryoma Nogami pitted up against Kenichi Nakata. The Lions jumped out to a 3-0 lead early on with Asamura having an RBI single to opening the scoring. Kuriyama would add on with a two run home run to give Nogami a comfortable cushion.

After Nogami escaped the top of the 2nd with a strikeout, the Lions added two more runs with a two-out RBI double from Mejia and a single from Fumikazu Kimura to make it 5-0. With the run support, Nogami would have a solid day, having only one mistake pitch as the only blemish. He would hang a pitch in the 5th inning and Seiji Uebayashi took it deep for a solo home run. Nogami went six innings with five strikeouts on the day.

Kazuhisa Makita took the 7th while Brian Schlitter allowed two hits, but had a scoreless 8th. Mejia would make sure the Lions were in good shape with his first home run of the season off Shuta Ishikawa and the three game skid would end.

Lions 6, Hawks 1

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In the rubber match, Brian Wolfe continued his tour of facing the NPB teams he played for in the past. It would be Nao Higashihama, a player the Lions tried to draft in 2012 taking the mound for the Hawks.

The Lions got an early lead with a sacrifice fly from Okawari-kun in the first. They would then double the lead from a solo HR by Mejia in the second.

It would then become a game of stranding runners for both sides, as there wouldn't be much clutch hitting. Wolfe had multiple Houdini innings by inducnig a double play from Uchikawa while runners were on the corners in the 4th. In the 6th, a runner would be in scoring position, but the Hawks couldn't bring him home as Yuichi Honda would hit a comebacker.

The bottom of the 6th is where the opportunity finally came for the Lions. Asamura and Okawari-kun would reach base on back-to-back hits and Kuriyama plated the former with a sacrifice fly. Mejia would then single off Ryota Igarashi to bring Okawari-kun home, making it 4-0.

Wolfe would concede a run for the first time in the 7th, as Yuki Yanagita reached base and scored on a single from Alfredo Despaigne. He would go seven innings with only two strikeouts on the day.

Schlitter would take the 8th inning and make it easy. Masuda would have some drama as he gave up three consecutive hits to Uchikawa, Despaigne and Akira Nakamura to make it 4-2. With the go-ahead run at the plate, Nobuhiro Matsuda would flyout and end the game, giving the Lions the series as the team is back at .500.

Lions 4, Hawks 2

Game notes:

-Mejia homered in his second consecutive game.

-Shotaro Tashiro was picked off after he was initially hit by a pitch.

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The Lions are safely back at .500 with plenty of room to get better. The offense had some life, but it was the defense that was the story minus Mejia's error. Sosuke Genda continues to live up to the hype on the defensive side of things. Tsuji has the standard Japanese lineup of a second hitter being designed to bunt.

If Schlitter can continue to be a useful arm out of the bullpen, there's hope. His velocity proved to be valuable and with Makita already an asset, the back end is in good shape. Can Tawata and Takahashi develop throughout the year? That question remains to be seen.

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2017 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: Tsuji wins opening series against defending champion Fighters

The Saitama Seibu Lions were victorious in the Opening series of the 2017 season by taking two out of three from the defending champion Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.

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For Opening Day, Yusei Kikuchi would take on Kohei Arihara in Sapporo Dome facing the defending champions. The Lions struck first in the second inning off two balls that failed to leave the infield. With runners on second and third, Fumikazu Kimura grounded into a fielder's choice and Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura would beat the throw towards home plate by sliding underneath Tomoya Ichikawa's glove. Ginjiro Sumitani would ground out, forcing Takumi Kuriyama to score from third, making it 2-0.

Kikuchi was strong through the first five innings, but it was one play that saved the team. With Haruki Nishikawa on first, Shohei Otani would double to right field, but a relay from Kimura to Hideto Asamura and a perfect tag by Sumitani would result in an out.

The Fighters got on the board with a solo home run from Ichikawa in the fifth inning, but that was minimal damage for the Lions overall.

In the top of the 6th, the heart of the order would finally go after Arihara as Asamura and Okawari-kun had back-to-back doubles to make it 3-1 and get the run back. Some poor defense from the Fighters put this game out of reach. Brandon Laird couldn't field a simple grounder which should have been a double play, scoring one run. Two errors by Kensuke Tanaka and Laird on the same play would move the runners and have another run plated in an uncharacteristic fashion. With runners on second and third, Sosuke Genda would get his first NPB RBI with a deep sacrifice fly ball.

Asamura made sure the lead wasn't in doubt after smashing a solo home run in the top of the 9th inning. Kikuchi would go seven innings with only four strikeouts and two walks. Shota Takekuma and Tatsuya Oishi took the 8th and 9th innings, respectively to end the game.

This had the feelings of a role reversal in last year, where the Lions defense was why they won and the Fighters ended up losing because of it. Kikuchi wasn't overpowering, but he didn't need to be with all the run support he had.

Lions 8, Fighters 1

Other notes:

-Kuriyama and Asamura both had Modashos (3+ hits in one game) on the night with the former playing as DH and the latter having four hits in total.

-Shotaro Tashiro, a Hokkaido native, started in LF.

-Genda was the starting SS and batted 9th in the lineup. He was called to sacrifice bunt, but also got a sacrifice fly later in the game. His defense was solid.

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Game 2 would have Ryoma Nogami face Luis Mendoza. There wouldn't be any scoring until Haruki Nishikawa would hit a home run in the third inning. Shohei Otani would later double in that inning and score from a single by Kensuke Kondo.

The Lions would get a run back in the top of the 4th when they loaded the bases. They would only score once as Genda beat out a double play attempt. With runners on the corners, Shogo Akiyama would flyout to end the inning. They loaded the bases again in the 5th, but Kimura would flyout with two outs.

Nogami failed to get an out in the fifth inning as Kondo would add another run through an RBI single. Mendoza would go five innings with the only run allowed being unearned through an error by Brandon Laird. The Fighters bullpen would take the last four innings with minimal drama.

There were two on base for the Lions in the 9th, but Chris Martin would strikeout Okawari-kun to end the game. Seibu had their chances, but only converted one run among all of them.

Fighters 3, Lions 1

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The rubber match would feature Brian Wolfe returning to Sapporo Dome for the first time since 2013 playing against his first NPB team. He would face new foreign pitcher Edwin Escobar, making his debut.

While the Lions had early threats, the game would be scoreless until the 4th inning, where Okawari-kun and Mejia would hit back-to-back doubles for the first blood. Otani would tie the game in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run.

The top of the 5th was where the party started as Kensuke Tanaka botched a simple throw from Escobar on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Genda. Escobar would end up with runners on the corners and Tashiro hit a simple comebacker, but the pitcher would throw one off target and Sumitani scored from third to give the Lions a lead again.

Tashiro would then steal second, giving Asamura a chance to do some more damage. He would get an RBI single to make it 3-1. Toru Murata would enter the game in relief, but an early balk gave the Lions an extra run. Mejia would earn a modasho on his third hit of the game with an RBI single making it 5-1.

Wolfe allowed a run in the bottom of the 5th with a wild pitch, but limited the damage. The third time through the order looked like it would strike on Wolfe, but he allowed only one more run from an RBI single from Kondo.

Kazuhisa Makita had a clean 7th inning and Schlitter took the 8th with only one hit given up. Kimura would get a sacrifice fly late in the game to add insurance, but Tatsushi had no trouble closing the game with a 1-2-3 9th inning.

Lions 6, Fighters 3

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It was no doubt a successful series win in Sapporo, a place the team hasn't done well in the past. The Lions would only win a series once in Sapporo Dome for both the 2015 and 2016 seasons, already matching that total three games into 2017.

The bats look good in terms of getting on base, but can still be feast or famine. It was a fun role reversal seeing the Fighters struggle with defense compared to what the Lions did in 2016. It's possible the Fighters are hungover from their Japan Series title, but we'll take it.

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