2022 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: Struggles in Naha

 

===

The Saitama Seibu Lions had a fruitless week away from home, going 1-4 against the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.

As a result, they've fallen into B-class behind the Orix Buffaloes. Most of this week was summed up by a lack of hitting, but Kaima Taira failed to close a game in Okinawa against the Hawks where he allowed multiple runs in the 9th inning. 

Otherwise, the Lions offense wasn't there. Dietrich Enns was the bright spot on the Sunday game against the Fighters, earning his 3rd win.

Right now, this isn't a good team with a one man offense in Hotaka Yamakawa.

Brian O'Grady will return for interleague play, but this team is too frustrating to take seriously. 

Game 1: Hawks 5 Lions 1

Game 2: Hawks 3 Lions 2

Game 3: Fighters 5 Lions 3

Game 4: Fighters 4 Lions 0

Game 5: Lions 3 Fighters 0

===

Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall

2022 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: Rookie makes early impact after no-hitter

 

===

The Saitama Seibu Lions went 2-2 combined against the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks and Rakuten Eagles. They remain in A-class ahead of the Orix Buffaloes and are one game above .500.

===

Roster moves

Before the games even started, the Lions made multiple transactions for the week.

-Brian O'Grady left the team for the States to witness the birth of his daughter. The Lions called up Seiji Kawagoe. 

-Venezuelan OF Romer Cuadrado was signed to an ikusei contract. He is the first foreigner in franchise history to be on a developmental deal.  Cuadrado made it as high as AA with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization before he was let go after 2021. Most recently, he played in his home Venezuelan league for the winter.

-The Lions promoted ikusei Natsuo Takizawa and even called him up to the ichi-gun immediately as Sosuke Genda was injured. Takizawa is the first developmental player to earn a promotion from the Lions 2021 Ikusei draft class. 

===

Fukuoka Softbank Hawks

The first game was scheduled for Miyazaki, however it rained out, only leaving some entertainment in the mud from Kakeru Yamanobe and Haruka Yamada.

As the series went to Fukuoka, the Lions made history for all the wrong reasons. 

Nao Higashihama threw a no-hitter in under 100 pitches allowing only walks to Takeya Nakamura and Hotaka Yamakawa. It was the first time the Lions were no-hit since Narciso Elvira in 2000.  

Chihiro Sumida didn't pitch poorly, but he allowed two runs in the third with timely hits from Kenta Imamiya and Yuki Yanagita for the only scoring of the game. 

Hawks 2 Lions 0

===

Rakuten Eagles

Kona Takahashi had another quality start which meant his fourth consecutive win. It took a comeback by the Lions as two key runs came in the 6th inning, including a HR from Nakamura.

The Lions took the second game with a miraculous four-run 7th inning rally sparked by a two-run triple from Takizawa. He later advanced home on a wild pitch, which was a lead the bullpen wouldn't relinquish. Takizawa was a hero interview for the first two games

This magic ran out in game three as the team squandered multiple chances and couldn't sweep the Eagles. 

Game 1: Lions 3 Eagles 2

Game 2: Lions 5 Eagles 4

Game 3: Eagles 3 Lions 1

===

It wasn't he greatest week, but at least the team recovered from being no-hit in Fukuoka. No idea how long Takizawa will be with the ichi-gun, but he already did more in 2022 than most would expect. 

===

Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall

2022 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: Yamakawa's resurgence continues in Golden Week

===

The Saitama Seibu Lions had a successful 4-2 week against the Chiba Lotte Marines and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters for the homestand and Golden Week holiday. 

With these wins, the Lions are in A-class with a 3.5 game lead on the Orix Buffaloes. 

===

Chiba Lotte Marines

The Lions took two out of three with quality starts from Kaito Yoza and Shunsuke Sato. Hotaka Yamakawa had two home runs in the series and Takeya Nakamura hit his first of the season in Game 3.

Yuto Koga made his debut on Thursday and called a good enough game for a shutout. 

In Wednesday's loss, Wataru Matsumoto struggled as he couldn't last three innings.  

Game 1: Lions 4 Marines 2

Game 2: Marines 7 Lions 5

Game 3: Lions 7 Marines 0

===

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

The Lions were aided by more offense from Yamakawa with multiple home runs, including a 2-HR game as the only offense for Sunday's win. 

Kona Takahashi had another strong outing while Dietrich Enns picked up his second win of the season with a six inning performance. 

Saturday's loss had Tetsuya Utsumi reach the career milestone of 2,000 innings pitched as he ended up with a no decision due to a lack of run support. 

A costly accident had Sosuke Genda injure his foot when a foul tip made hard contact off of it. Rookie Seigo Nakayama was called up and his fielding mistakes were a reason for the only loss of this series. 

Game 4: Lions 5 Fighters 0

Game 5: Fighters 3 Lions 2

Game 6: Lions 5 Fighters 1

===

This team can be both fun and frustrating at the same time with Yamakawa carrying this offense for most part. 

Let's hope Genda isn't out for long. For a half-full glass, the pitching and Yamakawa are bright spots, yet the hitting is still abysmal for half-empty reasons. 

===

Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall

2022 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: Masuda's milestone keeps team in hunt

===

The Saitama Seibu Lions went 3-3 against the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks and Orix Buffaloes during a six-game road trip in West Japan. 

They sit at 14-15-1 just a half-game out of A-class behind the Orix Buffaloes. It was also a milestone week for Tatsushi Masuda in career saves. 

===

Game 1: Shunsuke Sato vs. Shunta Ishikawa

Sato could only last six innings before giving up a runner in the 7th with only two earned runs. Yurisbel Gracial hit a two-run HR off Katsunori Hirai as the Hawks pulled away.

The Lions stranded multiple runners on base, including a situation when Haruka Yamada was up and the bags were loaded, but it resulted in a groundout. 

Hawks 3 Lions 0

===

Game 2: Wataru Matsumoto vs. Kazuki Sugiyama

Hotaka Yamakawa hit two HRs and Brian O'Grady added another as the Lions scored early and often against the Hawks.

Matsumoto went seven innings with only one run allowed, five strikeouts and two walks. 

With Yoshinobu Mizukami and Tetsu Miyagawa off the roster due to COVID-19, Keisuke Honda was called up and closed the game in the 9th.

Lions 8 Hawks 2

===

Game 3: Burch Smith vs. Colin Rea

Smith left the game after 1.1 innings due to discomfort in his right arm. With the bases loaded and Kaito Yoza entering the game, he forced two flyouts on Masaki Mimori and Isami Nomura to get out of a jam.

Hotaka Yamakawa hit a three run HR in the first inning and the Lions bullpen was able to hang on with 7.2 innings of combined work. 

Yoza earned his first win of the year going 3.2 innings after Smith's departure. 

Lions 4 Hawks 2

===

Game 4: Kona Takahashi vs. Jacob Waguespack

Takahashi threw eight shutout innings, but couldn't earn the win with zero run support. The Lions had seven hits and even loaded the bases on walks for an inning, but the bullpen of Orix kept runs off the board when it mattered. 

Waguespack threw five innings in a close contest.  It came down to the 9th inning with Kaima Taira on the mound as he walked two batters and only recorded a single out. Yuma Mune delivered the only timely hit of the night in a walkoff.

Buffaloes 1 Lions 0

===

 Game 5: Sachiya Yamasaki vs. Chihiro Sumida

Masataka Yoshida had two solo HRs as the Lions continued to fail scoring with runners on base. Sumida went six innings with only two runs allowed, but had a no decision.

Shoya Makino had his first extra base hit while Ryota Kawano had his first hit and RBI in NPB, but it wasn't enough as multiple chances were botched again.

Buffaloes 3 Lions 2

===

Game 6: Taisuke Yamaoka vs. Dietrich Enns

This was another pitcher's duel as both starters only allowed one run and stranded plenty of base runners. Enns was able to walk the tight rope going seven frames. As the Lions couldn't get a timely hit, Haruka Yamada hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning.

It wasn't until the top of the 9th when Hotaka Yamakawa hit a solo HR to break the 1-1 deadlock. The bullpen still had drama as Kaima Taira had a bases loaded jam before escaping with a grounder.

Tatsushi Masuda earned his 150th career save the hard way, stranding two runners in scoring position and getting a flyout for the milestone.

Lions 2 Buffaloes 1

===

It wasn't pretty, but a split is better than a 2-4 record with a sweep in Osaka as Japan enters golden week. 

Masuda and Taira had shaky outings, but it wasn't the worst scenario. The offense still can't hit away from Yamakawa, but the starting pitchers were amazing this week. 

===

Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall