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The Saitama Seibu Lions had a nightmare week in Sapporo, going 1-5 against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. They sit in 5th place in the Pacific League only ahead of the Orix Buffaloes. Here is how it happened:
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Game 1: Kona Takahashi vs. Naoyuki Uwasawa
The Lions could not stop Taishi Ota in this game as he had six RBIs, including two home runs and a crucial one of Takahashi to pull away. Takumi Kuriyama had a home run in the second, but the offense was dead while the pitching wasn't there in an 11-4 laugher.
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Game 2: Sho Ito vs. Nick Martinez
Ito went 4.1 innings while being on a strict pitch count giving up only one run. While Martinez looked dominant through four innings, the third time through the order penalty struck on him in the 6th inning with a flurry of hits, with two 2-run HRs from Cory Spangenberg and Hotaka Yamakawa. These home runs proved to be enough as the Lions tacked on two more insurance runs for a 7-2 win.
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Game 3: Kaito Yoza vs. Ryusei Kawano
Yoza gave up three runs in the first inning, including a timely hit from Sho Nakata which was enough for the Fighters to win it,. While the Lions had their chances, Takumi Kuriyama flew out with the bases loaded off Kawano to close the door in the fourth inning. Ernesto Mejia also had runners on base in the 8th off Naoki Miyanishi, but struck out when trailing by 2. The Lions losing trend continued with this 5-3 loss.
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Game 4: Zach Neal vs. Toshihiro Sugiura
Kensuke Kondo had a modasho with a solo HR and a two-run double of Neal for the entire Fighters offense. The Lions bats couldn't solve Sugiura while Ernesto Mejia struck out in the 7th inning having to runners on. They scored two runs in the 9th, but Spangenberg came up short against Ryo Akiyoshi with two runners on base by striking out for a 3-2 loss.
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Game 5: Wataru Matsumoto vs. Kohei Arihara
To put it shortly, this could be the most backbreaking loss of the season. The Lions scored six runs off Arihara including a HR from Yamakawa and timely hit from Kuriyama. However, things went south in the bottom of the 7th when Katsunori Hirai came in and walked a batter, giving up a gapper in the process. With Shohei Suzuki and Seiji Kawagoe unable to make plays on the ball, the Fighters were able to score five unanswered runs off Hirai, Tetsu Miyagawa and Reed Garrett for that frame, where the go-ahead run was a base hit by Ryo Watanabe.
Worse yet, the Lions stranded the bases in the top of the 8th after Mejia walked. Sosuke Genda struck out while Shuta Tonosaki fouled out on two pitches. This would mark a series loss, their fourth of the week for a 7-6 defeat.
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Game 6: Keisuke Honda vs. Drew VerHagen
VerHagen pitched a 7-inning gem and the Lions bats struggled again with 10 strikeouts. Honda went 5.2 innings, giving up timely hits to Sho Nakata and Taishi Ota as his blemishes. The only scoring by the Lions came in the first inning from a HR by Shuta Tonosaki. It would be the Lions fourth straight loss and third in a row by one run in a 2-1 defeat.
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This becomes one of the most discouraging weeks for the 2020 season. Suddenly the Lions are on the outside and their season is in jeopardy if they don't do anything against the Rakuten Eagles. We're 1/3 of the way through, but they can't afford to dig a hole as they're currently five games under .500.
Their other insult? Katsunori Hirai not being up to form. Hatsuhiko Tsuji is also stubborn to stick relievers in for one inning each, rather than thinking outside the box on possibly using Kaima Taira for two frames after he threw only six pitches for one. There is still time to get better, but it's not encouraging when veteran Takumi Kuriyama is leading the team on offense while Tomoya Mori is batting 7th and being called to bunt due to this offensive production.
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