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The Saitama Seibu Lions went 4-2 against the Chiba Lotte Marines and Softbank Hawks. They moved up to third place in the Pacific League and have an outside shot at a postseason berth as they trail the former by three games.
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Tomomi Takahashi announces retirement
Former All-Star closer Tomomi Takahashi announced he will retire from baseball at the end of the season. He hadn't played an ichi-gun game since 2018, once recovering from Tommy John surgery. Takahashi looked like one of the biggest steals of the 2012 NPB Draft with a strong 2014 season, but things went south when the second half of 2015 came along as he struggled.
He was last under an ikusei contract at the beginning of 2019 and failed to earn a promotion. His older sister, who is a media member in Fukuoka released a very thankful statement to Lions fans on her brother's retirement.
この写真を見たら急に実感湧いてきて、涙こぼれた😢
— 高橋早紀🎤ママアナウンサー@福岡 (@sackey_tk) October 20, 2020
耳元でFollow meがずっと流れてる。
弟の頑張りや活躍して放つ輝きは、地方にいる私まで光が届くほどで。
そのおかげで西武ファンの方に声をかけてもらったり、東京や埼玉から番組聞いてもらったり･･･感謝しかないです。 https://t.co/gEjWQKpdiX
西武ファンのみなさんのコメントが沁みる。
— 高橋早紀🎤ママアナウンサー@福岡 (@sackey_tk) October 20, 2020
私は、「弟がプロ野球選手」なことが自慢なんじゃなくて、
「こんなにたくさんの方に愛されている弟がいる｣ことが自慢なんだと、はっきり思った。ほんと、羨ましいよ。
妹も弟も自慢の存在！
あーー！仕事でインタビューしてみたかったなーーー！！笑
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Chiba Lotte Marines:
Kakeru Yamanobe was responsible for two sayonara wins with the first being an error on Leonys Martin and the second a timely hit. Both of them had a 2-1 score thanks to great pitching from Kona Takahashi and Shota Hamaya, who didn't earn wins.
In Game 3, the Lions were able to get to Kazuya Ojima with home runs from Cory Spangenberg and Shuta Tonosaki to put it away early for a sweep. It was the first time the Lions were alone in A-class and above .500 since August.
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Softbank Hawks:
Tatsuya Imai had one run allowed through five innings, but struggled in the 6th with his pitch count high and seeing the order for a third time. Tetsu Miyagawa couldn't clean up the mess while the Lions offense only scored off a double play in Game 1.
Ken Togame and the Lions bullpen spaced out the innings in Game 2 where it looked like Nao Higashihama would dominate the team in a 1-0 loss. Taisei Makihara had a solo HR, but the Lions pitchers stranded runners for the rest of the game including jams from Togame and Reed Garrett.
The top of the 8th was the primary chance for the Lions bats and with a struggling Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura up, Livan Moinelo loaded the bases thanks to some walks. Sho Iwasaki came in and he gave up a grand slam, the 21st in Okawari-kun's career which is already an NPB record. With the bullpen shutting down the Hawks, it prevented any chance of a Pacific League pennant clinch party for the weekend.
This magic disappeared in Game 3 when Wataru Matsumoto gave up six runs in two innings, including a two-run gapper from Yurisbel Gracial. Offensively, the Lions couldn't solve Kotaro Otake either, who went five innings with only three singles allowed. Ukyo Shuto's speed was also something that gave the Lions plenty of trouble.
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In perspective, this was a productive week for the Lions despite losing in Fukuoka. After trailing by as many as 10 games, the Lions are only three behind and sit at .500. Chiba has reeled a bit too, losing six of their last seven. There are no head-to-head games until the last regular season scheduled outing, but the Lions have their work cut out for them with Rakuten and Softbank coming to MetLife Dome this week. There's no cupcakes and the Lions need to prove they want to be part of the Climax Series.
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