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In the midst of playing nine consecutive games, the Saitama Seibu Lions ended on a 1-4-1 note with some blown opportunities and awful defense.
They could have been in first place with a win, but instead settled on second place entering the All Star break on a cold note.
Chiba Lotte Marines
Poor defense by Tomoya Mori led to a blown first game and the Lions couldn't recover from defensive errors in the second one either. Kaima Taira had a two run lead in the third, but only recorded one out as he walked multiple batters and gave up three runs for his first blown save of the year. It was the first time the Lions blew a game when leading after the 7th inning
Marines 5 Lions 3
Marines 8 Lions 4
Marines 5 Lions 4
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Rakuten Eagles
The Lions were able to take one game when Yutaro Watanabe stepped in and pitched five innings. Takeru Sasaki nearly blew it, but the Lions offense pulled away late.
It looked like an improbable comeback could happen against Masahiro Tanaka when they scored three runs, but Taira struggled giving up a tying solo HR to Atsuki Mutoh.
Nothing went right in the third game as Katsunori Hirai couldn't last five innings.
Lions 9 Eagles 4
Lions 3 Eagles 3
Eagles 9 Lions 2
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In perspective, the Lions are in second place, but there is more concern with this team with 50 games remaining as they're at the All Star break.
Brian O'Grady has been on the bench after the team chose to play the hot hands in "Aito" Takeda, Seiji Kawagoe and Shohei Suzuki. The bullpen had it's share of falls after Tatsushi Masuda has been out with COVID.
Did the bullpen peak or are they out of gas? There's plenty of bodies available, but it was a rough stretch. Offensively, Hotaka Yamakawa has been cold after a great April/May.
Need to see others step it up and hope it's not a repeat of 2015, when Tomomi Takahashi failed to recover from a blown save.
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