===
The Saitama Seibu Lions went 3-2 this week against the Yokohama DeNA Baystars and Yomiuri Giants on the road while staying in Kanto. They now have a three-game lead on the second-place Fighters as they retained first place in the Pacific League.
Here is how we got there:
===
The first game from Yokohama had Joe Wieland against Fabio Castillo in a battle of foreigners. After trading runs early through a sacrifice fly by Tomoya Mori, the Lions bats exploded with home runs. Hideto Asamura, Shuta Tonosaki and Hotaka Yamakawa all had a home run in this game with Asamura hitting two on the night.
Castillo finished the game going seven innings with only one run allowed. Neil Wagner had an easy 8th while Ichiro Tamura didn't allow scoring in the 9th to take the first game.
Lions 8, Baystars 1
===
The second game from Yokohama took place on Thursday after an initial rain out on Wednesday. It featured Ken Togame and Masaya Kyoyama, who remained as starters. Takumi Kuriyama started the scoring with a three-run HR in the top of the first. After a wild pitch brought in a fourth run, this game looked like a laugher.
However,the Baystars crept back and both teams started trading runs. Yamakawa and Asamura hit home runs again while Kuriyama added another timely. Togame went 6.2 innings, but was left in too long. Shota Takekuma continued his poor form and gave up a grand slam to make it a one-run game. Asamura's home run in the top of the 9th proved to be helpful insurance as Tatsushi Masuda closed the 9th with a runner on third.
Lions 9, Baystars 7
Game note:
-Tatsuya Oishi was called up, Daiki Enokida was taken off as a sign of precaution, having not been a starter for a whole season in several years.
===
The week remained in Kanto when the Lions went to Tokyo Dome as Tomoyuki Sugano faced Yusei Kikuchi in the opener. Akiyama pulled a Rickey Henderson HR on the third pitch of the game to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.
Hideto Asamura and Hotaka Yamakawa added two-out timely hits in the third to make it 3-0. Akiyama added another in the fourth while Ginjiro Sumitani hit another timely in the 5th to make it 5-0, ending Sugano's night.
Kikuchi pitched seven shutout innings with three walks, three strikeouts and only two hits allowed on the night. The bullpen couldn't resemble this line, as Neil Wagner allowed a two-run HR Naoki Yoshikawa for the first runs by the Kyojin.
Tatsushi Masuda allowed three hits, but only two runs came home on RBI groundouts. An error from Yamakawa kept the inning alive and there were two runners on base. Masuda got Kazuma Okamoto to strikeout and end the game despite the scare. The Lions held on for their fourth straight win.
Lions 5, Giants 4
===
The second game had Shinsaburo Tawata facing Kazuto Taguchi. Taguchi looked dominant at first and the Giants struck early with a timely hit from Okamoto. He added a second timely single to make it 2-0 in the third inning. Shuta Tonosaki brought a run back through a solo HR.
In the sixth inning, the Lions finally solved Taguchi, where Tomoya Mori hit a two-RBI single, setup by a gapper from Tonosaki. Despite getting a shutdown inning in the 6th, the lead wouldn't last in the 7th, as Tawata walked multiple batters and Hayato Sakamoto hit a three-run HR to make him pay.
Takeya "Okawari-kun" hit his first HR of the year in response to bring the Lions within one, but the bullpen couldn't keep it close. Katsunori Hirai didn't record an out and allowed a three-run HR to Shinnosuke Abe in the 8th inning, putting it all away for good. Asamura had a late HR, but it was all academic as the Kyojin took the second game.
Giants 8, Lions 5
===
The final game of the series had Brian Wolfe up against veteran Tetsuya Utsumi. Wolfe ran into early trouble with solo HRs by Sakamoto in the first and Yoshiyuki Kamei in the second inning for a 2-0 lead.
This lead didn't last long, as the Lions answered back on a timely hit from a timely hit by Shogo Akiyama in the third and another from Tonosaki in the 4th. The game stayed relatively tied 2-2 for awhile as Wolfe lasted seven innings and settled in.
Utsumi also went seven innings and the Lions failed to score another run despite the modasho from Akiyama. The Giants bullpen held up while the Lions faltered as Neil Wagner had a shaky 8th. Tatsushi Masuda ended up loading the bases and only recording one out in the 9th to end the game. Takumi Oshiro had the timely hit to sayonara off the Lions and take the series.
Giants 3, Lions 2
===
Tokyo Dome has been a building of horror for the Lions with a 1-5 record there. They still have to see the Marines for a road game in August. Despite the winning week, the bullpen is still poor and it's hard to be optimistic if this team really wants to catch the flag. Offense is still mostly good, but we can't be satisfied with just being in first place and that's it.
===
Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall
No comments:
Post a Comment