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The Saitama Seibu Lions went 3-3 against the Fighters and Buffaloes for the week. They retained their fourth place standing in the Pacific League with only 1/2 game behind the Rakuten Eagles for third.
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Game 1: Kona Takahashi vs. Naoyuki Uwasawa
Kona Takahashi pitched eight shutout innings and a mixture of timely hits made this game a laugher. The Lions scattered nine hits off Uwasawa through six innings, which was good for five runs. Timely hits came from everyone including Sosuke Genda, Ernesto Mejia and Tomoya Mori. Shuta Tonosaki also reached a new milestone for his 100th career stolen base in this 7-0 win.
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Game 2: Shota Hamaya vs. Drew VerHagen
The Lions walked eight batters and Taishi Ota hit a two-run HR off Hamaya to set the tone of this game. Drew VerHagen threw eight shutout innings and the Lions didn't score until the 9th off a reliever. Seiji Kawagoe had RBIs late while Ichiro Tamura struck out a few as a consolation in this 7-2 defeat.
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Game 3: Zach Neal vs. Nick Martinez
The Lions couldn't solve Kensuke Kondo early on and Neal gave up five runs through two innings. Tomoya Mori hit a three-run HR, but the Fighters pulled away as the Lions lose 8-3.
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Game 4: Tatsuya Imai vs. Taisuke Yamaoka
Imai lasted 5.1 innings with his best outing in months. After leaving two runners on base, Steven Moya had a timely hit to break the deadlock in the 6th. The bottom of the 6th is where the magic came as Takumi Kuriyama had a gapper with two runners on, giving the Lions the 2-1 lead they wouldn't give up. Their bullpen did the usual 7-8-9 work with Ryosuke Moriwaki, Kaima Taira and Tatsushi Masuda though there was drama in the 9th. Masuda loaded the bases, but got a ground ball to end it, snapping a 2 game skid.
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Game 5: Ken Togame vs. Yaku Cho
Yaku Cho had six scoreless innings against the Lions with eight strikeouts, on what was a fitting Taiwan day at MetLife Dome. Seiichiro Oshita and Steven Moya each had a home run as the Lions bats were near silent. Nien Ting Wu recorded a consolation RBI in the 7th, but it wasn't enough.
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Game 6: Wataru Matsumoto vs. Hiroya Miyagi
In a battle of first round picks and the opposition being a rookie, the Lions scored just enough offense in a tough battle. A three-run inning for the Lions including timely hits from Yuji Kaneko and Sosuke Genda were key to this win. Matsumoto went six innings with only one run allowed while there was drama in the 9th. Tatsushi Masuda gave up one run and had the tying run on third base, but two outs were recorded to preserve the win and a split for the week.
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Even with the game results being in the middle, having Takahashi, Imai and Matsumoto with solid starts is progress for the long run. Fans should enjoy the growth of the youth while Takumi Kuriyama sets himself up for 2,000 career hits in 2021.
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