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The Saitama Seibu Lions remain in 5th place after a 3-3 split with the Orix Buffaloes in Osaka. In a week that featured a managerial change, it ended on a sour note.
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Game 1: Kona Takahashi vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto
This game proved to be a strong pitcher's duel between both sides. Takahashi and Yamamoto both went seven innings and allowed one run with the latter having his unearned. Kona Takahashi had to strand several runners, but it was his best outing of 2020 with seven strikeouts and only one walk.
With a critical chance in the top of the 8th, the Lions cashed in when Ernesto Mejia had a timely hit to plate two runs. It didn't come without drama as Reed Garrett had the tying run on second base. However, he struck out Takahiro Okada to escape and the Lions took the first game of the series with a 3-1 win.
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Game 2: Daiki Enokida vs. Daiki Tajima
Enokida lasted five innings where his only blemish was a two-run HR to Takahiro Okada. Yuji Kaneko had a timely hit in the second inning and Fumikazu Kimura tied it with a solo HR of his own. Both sides struggled at stranding runners on offense with Tajima going six innings.
The Lions stranded the bases loaded when Tyler Higgins struck out Cory Spangenberg in the 8th. Garrett also left a runner on third base after a throwing error when he forced a groundout.
Drama came in the top of the 9th, when Tonosaki was up and Yuji Kaneko was on third thanks to reaching base on an error from Yuma Mune. Tonosaki dropped a hit just short of outfielder Kodai Sano and the ball went all the way to the wall, counting as an inside the park home run. The extra proved to be important when Tatsushi Masuda allowed a run in the bottom of the 9th, but he got Mune to strikeout and secure a fourth straight win by a score of 4-3.
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Game 3: Katsunori Hirai vs. Kazumasa Yoshida
The Lions went with an unconventional starter with Hirai and he delivered throwing five shutout innings.Offensively, they were able to cash in on hits with a timely from Tomoya Mori and Kimura. Hotaka Yamakawa broke it open with a bases-loaded single in the fourth inning.
Tatsuya Imai created a scare in the 6th inning by walking three consecutive batters while Shogo Noda walked in a run. However, Tetsu Miyagawa prevented further damage as the Lions were forced to use their back end relievers on another straight day as they hung on 6-4.
This game become notable because Orix manager Norifumi Nishimura stepped down immediately from his position after the game. They promoted farm manager Satoshi Nakajima to the ichi-gun role to takee over.
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Game 4: Zach Neal vs. Sachiya Yamasaki
The Lions couldn't solve Yamasaki, who only allowed one hit on a HR by Hotaka Yamakawa in the 4th inning. He would go seven frames in a no-decision. Neal stranded runners, but everything caught up to him in the 7th when Adam Jones hit a leadoff HR. In the 8th, Orix went ahead when Miyagawa allowed a bases-loaded single with inherited runners to Jones, breaking the tie as the Buffaloes won 3-1.
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Game 5: Tetsuya Utsumi vs. Yaku Cho
Adam Jones hit two HRs where Utsumi made his Lions debut after waiting nearly two years. Orix outpitched the Lions in this one where Cho escaped two jams in the 3rd and 4th innings. It was another game where the Lions offense was lackluster in a 5-2 defeat. Takeya Nakamura hit a HR as a cosolation in a losing effort.
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Game 6: Wataru Matsumoto vs. Andrew Albers
The Lions had a 3-1 lead, but Tetsu Miyagawa couldn't hold on in the second half of the game. In the 8th inning with the score tied 3-3, Adam Jones hit another HR to break it open as the Buffaloes scored three more runs. The Lions tried to make it close, but came up short in the top of the 9th with a 6-5 loss, their third straight.
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There's no hiding it, cancel any ideas of postseason for this Lions squad. What's second place? What's first place? The Lions aren't hitting and it showed this series against Orix, where they could've easily lost it rather than tied. Pitching has been average, but it's been a rough three weeks for Reed Garrett, who will have to adjust and go back to the drawing board as it feels like the league has studied him.
Otherwise, it's a developmental year for the rest of the squad, whether it's Kaima Taira, Shohei Suzuki, Wataru Takagi and more. This isn't pretty, but it's not boring at least.
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