The Saitama Seibu Lions won two out of five games played with one rainout against the Rakuten Eagles. They sit in B-class (4th place) while at a .500 record. Here's how it went down:
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Game 1: Tatsuya Imai vs. Hideaki Wakui
The Lions lost this one 11-0 and had no chance from the start. While Imai played with fire initially, it caught up to him in the fourth inning when Daichi Suzuki hit a bases-loaded single and Eigoro Mogi hit a three-run HR to break the ice. Wakui, the former Lion, threw seven scoreless innings.
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Game 2: Kona Takahashi vs. Hayato Yuge
Kona Takahashi gave up runs with two outs, including a HR to Ryosuke Tatsumi, never getting a chance to win. The Lions stranded several runners on base and had an opportunity when Yuge left in the fourth inning due to injury. Tomohiro Anraku came in and didn't allow a run. The chance came off former Lion Kazuhisa Makita in the 7th inning, where they scored three runs making it 5-4, but that was as close as it got.
The Eagles bullpen stood firm while Katsunori Hirai allowed two runs in the bottom of the 8th to put the game away in a 7-4 defeat.
Game note:
-Takeya Nakamura hit a double for the 300th of his career.
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Game 3: Zach Neal vs. Takahiro Norimoto
In what looked like a pitcher's duel on paper, the Lions got to Norimoto early and had no trouble, scoring five runs off the Eagles ace. It was a rally of base hits to make this one a laugher, as three Lions had three-hit games.
Neal earned his first win since Opening Day by pitching six innings and allowing only two runs. The Lions pulled away late in the 9th inning with four runs in a 10-2 victory. Neal has now won 13 consecutive decisions dating back to last year.
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Game 4: Wataru Matsumoto vs. Takahiro Shiomi
Matsumoto gave up early home runs to Eigoro Mogi and Hiroaki Shimauchi in the first inning, but he didn't allow further damage through five innings. Shiomi looked dominant, but the Lions got to him in the 6th inning when Hotaka Yamakawa tied the game on a three-run home run. Two batters later, Takeya Nakamura hit a solo HR, which was good enough to give the Lions the lead for the rest of the game. Katsunori Hirai, Tetsu Miyagawa, Reed Garrett and Tatsushi Masuda combined for four scoreless innings to even up the series.
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Game 5: Daiki Enokida vs. Takayuki Kishi
Kishi was knocked out early when Yamakawa hit a three-run HR, but the Eagles chipped away at the lead thanks to Hideto Asamura, who had four hits.
With a 5-3 lead in the 7th, Hirai walked the first two batters and that's where the disaster began. The bases were loaded for Kaima Taira and while he struck out Stefen Romero, Asamura tied the game and Yasuhito Uchida hit a grand slam for the Eagles first lead of the day. This ruined a decent 2020 debut for Enokida, who went 6+ innings.
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It wasn't an awful week, but overall, this means the Lions went 5-5 in 10 road games when adding the Marines series. The Lions will have a date with Chiba as they return home with fans for the first time on July 21. The good news? Offense had life and didn't look below average like has been this season.
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