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The Saitama Seibu Lions took three out of five games played in Chiba as they sit in third place with a 10-9-1 record in the Pacific League. With a recent vacation I took, here's a short brief on the Orix Buffaloes series prior to the Marines.
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Orix Buffaloes:
The Lions lost the series 2-3-1 including both wins being gifted by the Buffaloes mistakes. In one win, the Lions scored only three runs, which all came on unearned errors. In another game, they were no-hit by Yu Suzuki through five innings and the Orix bullpen didn't allow a hit until the 8th inning.
Masataka Yoshida shredded the Lions pitchers with several key home runs, including a win over the Lions when they had a three-run lead in the late innings. Ryosuke Moriwaki and Ryuya Ogawa couldn't hold in the 8th inning. Bats also remained unclutch as a whole.
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Chiba Lotte Marines:
Tatsuya Imai threw seven shutout innings in a Lions win, but it was a disappointing series as a whole for starting pitchers which would have been worse if it weren't for a no-game rainout. Kona Takahashi gave up multiple home runs in his outing while Wataru Matsumoto was lit up for five runs in the first two innings.
On Friday, Zach Neal had a miracle comeback of run support to prevent a loss in his record. Takumi Kuriyama hit a two-run HR in the 8th inning while forcing a bases-loaded walk in the 9th for the go-ahead run.
Sunday had Kaito Yoza going 4.2 innings with a lead, but he couldn't record the last out of the 5th to earn a win. The final game had HRs from Kuriyama and Cory Spangenberg into the ZozoMarine Stadium HR Lagoon as the Lions took the series.
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This week wasn't all roses for everyone, as Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura is day-to-day after being hit by a pitch from Yoshinobu Yamamoto while his replacements in Nien Ting Wu and Kakeru Yamanobe don't hit as well.
Yuji Kaneko was also taken off the ichi-gun roster after a poor hitting performance while batting ninth. Shohei Suzuki has so far done his part, now batting leadoff in centerfield. We also saw the debut of Junichiro Kishi, an 8th round pick out of Indy ball.
Daisuke Matsuzaka also had back surgery, hoping to make an appearance in 2020, but it will be on hold for at least two months.
The Lions starting pitching had a sketchy two weeks, but the bullpen appears to be a strength with Reed Garrett, Kaima Taira, Katsunori Hirai and Tatsushi Masuda all being important contributors. This should be a good way to start, though the offense still has ups and downs while not being consistent enough.
Best thing? Not faltering into the cellar. In thee first month of the season, no team can afford to dig a hole to climb out of. So far, the Lions haven't done this and are on pace to a similar start from 2019.
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