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The Saitama Seibu Lions fell to third place in the Pacific League and trail the Rakuten Eagles by one game for first place. They went 2-4 against the Eagles and Chiba Lotte Marines for what was a tough stretch.
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Game 1: Wataru Matsumoto vs. Takayuki Kishi
Matsumoto had four walks in one inning and allowed a solo HR to do all the damage needed against the Lions. Kishi went six innings with two runs allowed, but the offense was mostly dead for the night. Disaster struck with Mitsuo Yoshikawa entered the 5th and 6th innings, allowing a combined eight earned runs to put this one away.
Eagles 13 Lions 2
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Game 2: Tatsuya Imai vs. Takahiro Norimoto
The Lions had no answer for Ryosuke Tatsumi, who tripled and hit a HR in this one to give the Eagles a lead for good. Gakuto Wakabayashi had a modasho, including his first career HR, but it wasn't enough as Norimoto held the Lions to two runs over seven innings. Imai had three runs allowed in five innings while walking five batters.
Eagles 6 Lions 3
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Game 3: Towa Uema vs. Ryota Takinaka
Takinaka had a perfect game through five innings and it wasn't until Aito Takeda had a base hit in the 6th to break it up. It was another day of poor offense with a shutout. Making his ichi-guu debut, Uema went 5.1 innings, but gave up home runs to Eigoro Mogi and Tatsumi in what was a drubbing to secure first place for the Eagles in the sweep.
Eagles 4 Lions 0
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Game 4: Kona Takahashi vs. Kota Futaki
The Lions offense had nearly no signs of life against Futaki while Kona Takahashi allowed several base runners. Two manufactured runs and a HR by Kota Yamaguchi made it 4-1. "Aito" Takeda had a solo HR in the second, but the Lions had their best opportunity in the 8th. With the bases loaded, Nien Ting Wu hit a two-RBI single and Aito followed that up with a three-run HR.
Bullpens made the difference in this one as Kaima Taira and Tatsushi Masuda had no issue taking the 8th and 9th as the Lions snapped a three game skid.
Lions 7 Marines 4
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Game 5: Syota Hamaya vs. Minabu Mima
Leonys Martin hit two HRs off Hamaya which gave the Marines an insurmountable 4-0 lead. Hamaya would only last three innings before he was pulled. Aito hit a solo HR in the 5th inning, but it wasn't enough. With the bases loaded in the 8th inning off Yuki Karakawa, Wu and Aito failed to drive in any runs to seal the game. Mima pitched seven strong innings with only two runs allowed for Chiba.
To add injury to insult, Gakuto Wakabayashi left the game early with an injury.
Marines 6 Lions 2
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Game 6: Katsunori Hirai vs. Shota Suzuki
Neither team could score on a traditional hit in this game. Chiba scored first on an RBI groundout with two runners on base, but didn't muster up anymore offense. The Lions followed this with Sosuke Genda stealing two bases and later scoring on a sacrifice fly from Takeya Nakamura in the 4th.
In the 5th inning, Ryusei Sato advanced from first to third base after a wild pitch by Suzuki and scored on a sacrifice fly from Haruka Yamada to make it 2-1. Both sides traded chances, but neither could score and even stranded the bases loaded. In the 8th, Chiba has the bases loaded with two outs, but Kaima Taira struck out Tsuyoshi Sugano, who was caught looking on full count to end the threat.
Hirai outpitched his competition, going seven innings with eight strikeouts in giving the main relievers work for the end. The Lions took the series after a rough sweep against Rakuten.
Lions 2 Marines 1
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It wasn't pretty, but it could've been worse. The Lions bats don't look good given the injuries and possible lack of pop. However, the pitching Kona Takahashi and Hirai remains encouraging through it all. Big thing? The Lions bullpen did something Chiba couldn't do for a game in holding a lead. Down the stretch, if things stay this way, it's an advantage.
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