Seibu Lions 2016 season is all but over, but it could be worse

The Saitama Seibu Lions suffered a 1-5 week which included being swept by the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters from June 27-29. After the week, they fell to 10.5 games behind the Fighters and third place in the Pacific League.

Even worse, in a series against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, they fell to fifth place for a day before reclaiming fourth place in July 3rd's 4-3 victory. Including the sayonara loss in Hiroshima on June 14th, the Lions have had their worst run dating back to last year's 13-game losing streak of going 3-12 from June 14 - July 3.

There are several factors as to why this happened and how they are where they are. We can no longer talk about playoffs, in the words of Jim Mora Sr. Before we discuss the goals, here is why the Lions are stuck to being a bottom pack team:

Rotation has not been stable and remains raw

The Lions were hoping that Andy Van Hekken would contribute as a middle rotation starter. In the end, he's been a sixth starter only up for emergency and while he's improved since April, he is nowhere near worth what the team has been paying him. Ken Togame went from mediocre at the end of 2015 to a trainwreck and is now stuck in the bullpen.

Chun-Lin Kuo has remained in ni-gun since April and injuries to Takayuki Kishi and Yusei Kikuchi haven't helped. Shinsaburo Tawata remains "green" as a rookie while Kona Takahashi is still young and growing.

Last season had a strong first half from a rotation that was missing Kishi, but this year we've seen nothing but below average pitching as a whole minus what Kikuchi did when healthy.

===

Bullpen collapses without Kazuhisa Makita

Makita in long relief was able to cover up the bad starts from Togame and other pitchers, even winning some games by taking multiple innings. The Lions staff made an excellent call to switch him to the bullpen as the swingman, but a leg injury has kept him out since that series in Hiroshima and he hasn't been playing since.

The longer he's out, the more the middle relief becomes a mess and while there are individuals like Tatsushi Masuda and Shota Takekuma, the middle innings become difficult for Norio Tanabe to manage. Another problem for a separate story is C.C. Lee becoming a ni-gun pitcher, after being expected to help fix the bullpen.

===

Bats remain inconsistent

The Lions offense has been half empty and half full. A feast or famine group that can look good one day, but terrible on another. They've done a better job at working the starting pitching and a resurgence from Takumi Kuriyama has helped, but they don't score enough runs when guys are on base consistently.

There have been games where the pitcher hasn't been bad, but a lack of run support until it's too late has been the theme of the offense. Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura being out didn't help, but there were plenty of opportunities of the Lions being on base without him. The offense has the makings of a .500 team.

===

With all the gloom and terrible play recently, there are things to watch and still look forward to. They're not a boring group, but just frustrating due to the results not going in their favor.

Here are some things to look at for the second half as it began last week:

Rotation growth:

This season becomes about the development of Takahashi and Tawata hoping they are the future pieces of the Lions rotation for years to come. From Takahashi, we've seen flashes of why he was a first round pick after being a Koshien hero for Maebashi in 2013. On the otherhand, Tawata has become difficult to watch, but no player can be called a bust in their first year no matter what. We need to see progress from both guys which would be the short term goal.

Isamu Sato or another draft pick could get starts later in the season and we can only hope they find their way to earn ichi-gun time. Sato had multiple starts before he was deactivated.

===

Felipe Paulino as a long term answer? 

Paulino was signed midseason after the Lions have had an open spot on their 70-man roster. It has the makings of a desperate signing in response to the struggles of Van Hekken, Kuo and Lee. However, his time in the rotation becomes an audition for next year.

In the States, Paulino was last seen in AAA and most likely would be on pace to spend his playing career bouncing up and down between the major and minor leagues. This is an opportunity for him to showcase himself to the Lions and possible earn a job for 2017. From a Lions standpoint, it's a flyer signing, but it never hurts to evaluate a player ahead of time by bringing him in now.

===

Can Yusei Kikuchi establish himself as an ace?

A lot of people view Kikuchi as a disappointment after being touted as a once in a generation talent out of high school with MLB potential. Some might say he's a bust because he isn't an ace. However, after having a promising 2015 and Shinji Mori coming in as pitching coach, Kikuchi has brought in six quality starts with more efficiency.

When he returns from his injury, Kikuchi is expected to be the guy for the short term as Kishi will eventually age and pass the torch. Can he have a second half to build on for the long run?

===

Conclusion:

There is no denying that the Lions are rebuilding on the fly with their rotation pieces already in action. If they can get their lumps out now with reps and games played, we can hope the experience becomes more valuable for the long term.

With the manager situation unstable and Tanabe viewed as a lame duck (caretaker in soccer terms), the reins will most likely be passed to Tetsuya Shiozaki or someone else.

This team may not be there and is far from competent, but there are worse situations in NPB than the Lions. There's a plan with youth combined with a core for the present and future. Unfortunately these things just don't turn around overnight.

===

Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall

2016 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: Okawari-kun returns and prevents a complete sweep

The Saitama Seibu Lions went 1-5 for the week against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. They even fell to 5th place in the Pacific League for a day with this skid.

===

Game 1 against the Fighters saw Takayuki Kishi start against Luis Mendoza.  The Lions jumped out of the gate with a four-run 1st inning with a three-run HR from Ernesto Mejia. They'd continue to get on base and Kyohei Nagae hit a sacrifice fly.

The bottom of the frame was controversial, as Haruki Nishikawa reached base when the replay showed he was out. He would steal second and score on a bunt single + throwing error from Yuji Kaneko to make it 4-1. A base hit from Yoh cut the lead to 4-2.  It wasn't until the bottom of the third where Yoh hit a no-doubt solo HR to make it a one-run ballgame.

Mendoza would leave in the 6th inning, after walking Hotaka Yamakawa and an infield single to Nagae. With the final batter on first pitch, pinch hitter Yuji Onizaki would get a single and give the Lions some insurance to make it 5-3. With two outs, Yuji Kaneko (wearing bullpen catcher Yuta Arakawa's jersey) would hit a huge gapper two score two more and make it 7-3.

The Fighters created drama in the bottom of the 7th. After allowing back to back leadoff hits, a deep sacrifice fly would make it 7-4. Then after Nishikawa grounded out, Takuya Nakashima hit a weak comebacker, but Kishi threw the ball away to right field and another run would score.

Kishi intentionally walked Daikan Yoh, who was already 3-3 on the day chasing a cycle and later pinch hitter Kenji Yano walked on five pitches. With the bases loaded and a full count after being ahead, Kishi allowed an RBI single to Kensuke Tanaka with two outs and the Fighters would tie the game with the crooked inning at 7-7. Brandon Laird would rope a single shortly after to make it 8-7.

The Lions bats were all but dead in the 8th and 9th innings as Chris Martin finished off the team. The tying run was on second base in the 8th, but Shogo Akiyama couldn't bring it home.

Kishi was already at 100+ pitches by the 7th, but Tanabe made the irrational decision of trusting the ace, hoping he could get one more out, similar to how Kona Takahashi failed on Friday's game in Gunma.

Overall, this game was beyond unwatachable once the 7th came due to the error by Kishi combined with the long frame. His velocity was obviously down late and the Fighters were able to foul off everything until the big pitch came.

Fighters 8, Lions 7

Game notes:

-Hideto Asamura was examined in Tokyo for his ankle injury and got a pinch hit appearance in the 8th inning.

-The Lions deactivated Daichi Mizuguchi and started him at 2B with Asamura's injury. They also called up third-round draft pick Shogo Noda, deactivating Ryo Sakata and Yasuo Sano as the corresponding moves. Mizuguchi had his first career start and plate appearances, going 0-2 before being pinch hit for in the 6th.

===

In Game 2 against the Fighters, Felipe Paulino would make the start against Mitsuo Yoshikawa. And right away, the Fighters would strike with first blood, thanks to a frozen rope into left field from Daikan Yoh.

The Fighters would scratch another run off the Lions in the third, after the Lions would bring the infield in with Shohei Otani on third and Daikan Yoh on base thanks to consecutive singles. Norio Tanabe would play the infield in, but Kensuke Tanaka would hit it to just enough away from Asamura to allow Otani to beat the throw and give the Fighters a 2-0 lead. The damage probably should've been more, but Yuji Kaneko made a sensational catch that forced him to crash into the outfield wall and prevent Takumi Oshima from extra bases.

The Lions would have a big opportunity to answer in the fourth with runners at the corners and nobody out for Gin-chan. Gin-chan would ground to Brandon Laird at third and that would start a 5-4-3 double play, and shockingly, Hotaka Yamakawa did not race home after Laird threw to second, costing the Lions a run they so desperately needed.

The bottom of the order would take advantage of Paulino in the bottom of the fourth, thanks to a one out rally that included some questionable hanging breaking balls and poor fastball command that led to a one out walk and a one out single to Nakashima and Hiromi Oka, respectively. This would allow Nishikawa to cash in with a sacrifice fly and complete the scoring for the night.

From this point forward, the story would go to the Fighters bullpen who would combine for four innings of relief and earn Yoshikawa the win after his poor command didn't allow to get an out beyond the 5th inning. Anthony Bass would provide two innings, Keisuke Tanimoto would provide one, and Chris Martin would nail down the save.

A poor game from the bats and a workman like start from Paulino would be the key talking points from this game. Paulino did enough to keep his team in the game, but it didn't matter, because this is a game where the Lions would've had trouble scoring a run in 18 innings, let alone 9.

Fighter 3, Lions 0

===

In Game 3, an interesting pitching matchup would surface as the Lions looked to avoid the sweep in Sapporo. Andy Van Hekken would make the start for the Lions looking to prove that his success in the KBO can translate to NPB. For the Fighters, the handkerchief prince, Yuki Saito would get his first start of the 2016 season.

Both pitchers would not go deep enough to qualify for the win and the bullpens would decide the game, and both pitchers would leave the game with nearly identical pitching lines.

After Takumi Kuriyama's chopping, 2-run single in the fourth off Saito, the game would stay in a 2-2 stalemate until the 7th.

Before that, the bottom of the 6th would be notable for the simple reason that the Lions were not the victim of an overturned review as a result of the home plate obstruction rule. The call came in question after Kenshi Sugiya hit one into the right-centerfield gap, the Fighters would wave Tanaka around third and the relay throw from Asamura would take Okada a little offline, but he was able to make the tag without obstructing runner and therefore making sure that Tanaka was a dead duck.

With the Lions looking to use Ken Togame in the same role that Kazuhisa Makita has held up until his recent injury. Togame would pitch relatively well until the aforementioned bottom of the 7th, and with the bases loaded, Kenuske Tanaka would provide more problems for the Lions and hit a bases clearing triple that would crush the Lions hearts and give the Fighters a commanding 5-2 lead after 7.

The Lions would again struggle to string any hits together against Fighters bullpen, but this time they would get something going against the closer, Chris Martin. Naoto Watanabe would start the top of the 9th with a leadoff single, then Uemoto would reach on a Brandon Laird error, giving the Lions runners on first and second with nobody out. Martin would get Kyohei Nagae to strike out and get the first out of the 9th, but Shogo Akiyama would hit a sharp single to center that would load the bases for Yuji Kaneko.

With Akiyama representing the tying run, Kaneko would ground out and the Fighters would take the out and allow Watanabe to score and make it a 5-3 game. That would be all the Lions would get, and with the tying run on second base, Tomoya Mori would ground out to Brandon Laird who made up for his bad error with a great play deep up the third base line to end the game and complete the sweep for the Fighters.

Another difficult loss, the Lions continued their struggles at the plate and the loss of Makita continues to haunt the team. Hideki Kuriyama's squad reestablished their recent dominance over the Lions with this sweep and the Lions continue to scratch their collective heads.

Fighters 5, Lions 3

===

In Game 1 against the Eagles, it would be Takahiro Norimoto against Kona Takahashi. After 6 up and 6 down, Norimoto's defense would hurt him in the third. He would fail to touch first base and Kyohei Nagae was safe with runners on the corners and one out.

Norimoto would then take an ill-advised pickoff attempt to first, which would score Naoto Watanabe from third for the first run of the game. Takumi Kuriyama would then single with two outs to plate Nagae making it 2-0.

Takahashi would struggle out of the gate with a lack of control, but the defense would bail him out through five innings. This included 6-3 lineout, 8-5 flyout and 6-4-3 groundout double plays. The bottom of the 1st was also shaky, where it took a base running blunder from Takero Okajima running him from third on a routine grounder.

The mistakes would catch up as Kona Takahashi wouldn't escape the 6th inning. He allowed consecutive base hits and Zelous Wheeler would be hit by a pitch on an 0-2 count to load the bases with no outs. Ginji Akaminai would make him pay, with a bases clearing double and instantly, the Eagles would take a 3-2 lead with one swing.

In the top of the 7th, the Lions had a chance with runners on the corners and no outs, but Nagae would strike out and Tomoya Mori, coming in as a pinch hitter, grounded into a fielder's choice. With Norimoto having a high pitch count and Kuriyama being struck on the foot to load the bases, Shogo Akiyama would strikeout on a pitch in the dirt and end the threat.

The tying run would be on second base again in the 8th against Kam Mickolio.  But Watanabe struck out and Tatsuyuki Uemoto would flyout to squander the chance again.

Yuki Matsui shut the door after walking Mori. Akiyama looked like he could have pulled a deep gapper, but it stayed in the park and on the warning track to end it.

Takahashi's poor game didn't show until the 6th when it comes to runs. It was an ugly game where he could have allowed more, but the Lions bats also couldn't get consecutive hits when they needed to.

Eagles 3, Lions 2

Game note:

-Naoto Watanabe had a Modasho, earning three singles on the night.

-Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura returned for the first time in nearly two weeks.

===

In Game 2, it would be Ryoma Nogami facing Minabu Mima.  The Lions would get off to a hot start with three runs in the second inning, thanks to a gapper from Watanabe and a single from Masatoshi Okada.

The bottom of the third is where everything unraveled. Asamura would be responsible for an error to create runners on the corners with one out. After nearly escaping the inning, and allowing a run, Nogami would give up a three run home run to Zelous Wheeler for a 4-3 lead.

The Lions would squander multiple chances in the game including two on with one out, but Akiyama struck out and Okawari-kun flew out to end the threat. Hirotaka Koishi would only make it worse. Kazuya Fujita would hit a gapper of his own and plate two more runs and Hiroaki Shimauchi added another making it 7-3.

Takumi Kuriyama would get an RBI single in the top of the 9th off Yuki Matsui, but it was too late. The Lions would lose their sixth straight and continue to go on a downward spiral.

Eagles, 7 Lions 5

===


In Game 3, it would be Kenji Tomura facing Shinsaburo Tawata in Sendai. It would be a brutal start for Tawata in the first, allowing three runs to begin the game including hits from Wheeler and Toshiaki Imae. Rakuten also pulled off a double steal to get the third run.

The Lions squandered early chances including a double play from Nagae with the bases loaded, but the fifth inning would bring some life. Akiyama and Okawari-kun would plate a run each and with the bases loaded, Watanabe would hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game.

Tawata would last only four innings which wasn't bad, but he still struggled with his control and was fortunate to not allow more.

Shogo Noda would get two outs, but with a runner on third, the Lions sent Ken Togame into the game, where he struck out Wheeler to end the threat.

Togame had a scoreless 6th inning, but allowed a leadoff single to Toshihito Abe in the 7th. However, Shota Takekuma cleaned up the scare by striking out Okajima and Fujita flying out to left field.

Things would remain scoreless as the Lions failed to get runs off the poor Rakuten bullpen. The ninth inning became interesting as Akiyama hit a one out single and immediately stole second. Okawari-kun then sliced a ball into left field for a single and it scored Akiyama from 2nd to break the tie.

Playing his first game in eight days, Tatsushi Masuda shut the door in the 9th and earned his first save in two weeks. The Lions would snap a six game losing streak in the process and prevent being swept for two straight series.

Lions 4, Eagles 3

===

The Lions are currently 3-12 in their last 15 games dating back to the painful obstruction loss in Hiroshima. With another poor week in the books, the team is very close to shutting the door on the season and the Lions are currently too far behind for any spot of thinking about playoffs.

The Fighters have won 10 in a row and it doesn't look like they'll stop. The Lions rotation just isn't there, but the bats are even worse in this stretch where runs aren't coming. They can still get on base, but the recent development of Shogo Akiyama batting third is just too unusual, let alone benching Tomoya Mori for the whole series in Sendai.

At this point, we hope to see development of Tawata and Takahashi as the season goes along.

===

Wes Mills also contributed to this report. 

===

Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall

Graveyard Baseball Podcast: Lions ŌenDEN Episode 9

This is the 9th episode of our podcast discussing the Saitama Seibu Lions. Discussion includes the team's rotation, Ichiro Suzuki, NPB's plate obstruction rule, Shintaro Fujinami and more!

We apologize for any errors and mispronounciations recorded from this episode. (Accidentally said Takumi Kuriyama instead of Fighters' manager Hideki Kuriyama. Please leave any feedback in the comments.  Click here if the embed doesn't work.  | Download here.

===

Note: Podcast episode was recorded on 6/25. Several events (and losses) have happened since, as the Lions are currently 10 games behind the Fighters in the standings.

===

Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall

Translation: Seibu Lions players react to being All-Stars and Tetsuto Yamada

The Saitama Seibu Lions had four players selected to the 2016 NPB All Star series by fan vote. As a result, the team uploaded a video with their reaction and thoughts on making the team. They were also asked about reigning Central League MVP, Tetsuto Yamada.

Here is a reaction from Shogo Akiyama, Ginjiro Sumitani and Kazuhisa Makita:

Kazuhisa Makita [voted in as middle reliever/setup pitcher]: 

"I'm happy and honored to be selected All-Star team. This is the first time selected as a [long reliever]. Formerly selected as a [closer and starter]. I'll do my best and will recover [from my injury]."

(On Tetsuto Yamada): "I'd like to face Tetsuto Yamada and strike him out. I'll show my submarine pitching and do my best."

===

Ginjiro Sumitani [voted in as catcher]: 

"I'm frankly happy.  I don't have a pleasant memory [from] my past All- Star game history, So this year I'll really make an effort to give a good impression to my fans. I would do my best and show a play to a professional."

(On Tetsuto Yamada): "At the moment I'd like to face him as a catcher. We can win an easy victory over him."

===

Shogo Akiyama [OF]: 

"I'm very proud that I was selected an outfielder of Pacific league All- Star team."

(On Tetsuto Yamada): "If we [strike him out], may I sit down in the outfield?"

"Yokohama is my hometown and [I] have a special feeling [about it]. So I'd like to show them my [playing abilities]."

(Shogo Akiyama played high school baseball at Yokohama Sogaku Hall before going to Hachinohe University in Aomori prefecture. He was teammates with Shotaro Tashiro at the University)

===

Note: All three players are expected to play in Game 2 of the All-Star Series on July 16 in Yokohama.

===

Special Thanks to our friend "Maple Ash" for providing translation.  

===

Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall

Four Lions earn fan vote to 2016 NPB All Star Series

NPB announced the fan vote all stars for the 2016 NPB Series on Monday evening. Four Saitama Seibu Lions became all stars as a result.

For those unfamiliar, fans get to vote each position for the NPB All-Star series. This includes closer, relief pitchers and starting pitcher, something that MLB doesn't offer. (Though they have the right to vote for all position players).

OF Shogo Akiyama, C Ginjiro Sumitani, RP Kazuhisa Makita and 2B Hideto Asamura were fan votes among the Lions players at their respective positions. In a strange scenario, both Asamura and Makita are injured at the time of receiving their all star status.

Sumitani continues to have solid defense behind the plate, but is still a hole offensively. Asamura had a strong month of May, but there are questions about him being consistent or not.

Akiyama and Makita were shoo-ins the moment the All-star ballot came out. The Lions bullpen wouldn't be good without Makita while Akiyama has remained a solid leadoff hitter with an on-base percentage well above .400.

Interestingly enough, Ernesto Mejia couldn't earn the fan vote as Sho Nakata of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters got in through name recognition. Brandon Laird also came up short as Nobuhiro Matsuda (Fukuoka Softbank Hawks) was the 3B representative.  Game 1 is on July 15 in Fukuoka and Game 2 is on July 16 in Yokohama.

The full all-star rosters will be announced later and we'll have a full reaction to this when it comes.

Here is the complete list of All-Stars who are in through the fan vote:

Pacific League

SP: Shohei Otani (Fighters)

RP: Kazuhisa Makita (Lions)

CL: Dennis Sarfate (Hawks)

C: Ginjiro Sumitani (Lions)

1B: Sho Nakata (Fighters)

2B: Hideto Asamura (Lions)

3B: Nobuhiro Matsuda (Hawks)

SS: Kenta Imamiya (Hawks)

OF: Yuki Yanagita (Hawks), Shogo Akiyama (Lions), Yoshio Itoi (Orix Buffaloes)

DH: Yuya Hasegawa (Hawks)

===

Central League

SP: Tomoyuki Sugano (Yomiuri Giants)

RP: Shinji Tajima (Chunichi Dragons)

CL: Yasuaki Yamasaki (Yokohama DeNA Baystars)

C: Yuhei Nakamura (Tokyo Yakult Swallows)

1B: Takahiro Arai (Hiroshima Toyo Carp)

2B: Tetsuto Yamada (Swallows)

3B: Shingo Kawabata (Swallows)

SS: Hayato Sakamoto (Giants)

OF: Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (Baystars), Yoshihiro Maru (Carp), Shun Takayama (Hanshin Tigers)

===

Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall

2016 Seibu Lions Weekly Digest: Sayonara from Sakata prevents a sweep

The Saitama Seibu Lions would lose the series coming off interleague play to the Chiba Lotte Marines. They're now six games behind the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and are still in fourth place.

===

In Game 1 against the Marines, Kona Takahashi would play in the city of his high school career in Maebashi (Gunma prefecture) against big time nemesis Ayumu Ishikawa. Tomoya Mori opened the scoring with a two-run home run, but Daichi Suzuki answered back with a solo HR making it 2-1 in the 2nd.

Ernesto Mejia hit his 23rd HR of the season in the bottom of the 3rd to make it 3-1. The bottom of the 5th saw Mori hit another HR for a no-doubter and Hideto Asamura added on with a solo HR of his own to make it 5-1 after five.

However, the top of the 6th would be a disaster. Takahashi wasn't looking good all game, but only gave up the solo HR despite a lack of control and giving up hits. He only had two strikeouts entering the 6th, but a two-out rally would come out of nowhere. Tatsuhiro Tamura would double and the hits or walks would keep coming, all with two outs.

The Marines would bat around the order and score six runs through htis and walks, leaving Takahashi in the dust unable to retire the final batter. Shota Takekuma entered with the bases loaded as it was 5-4. However, Yamaico Navarro would single and the Marines took the lead for good at 6-5.  Suzuki added another to make it 7-5.

Mejia got the Lions a run back in the 7th inning, but the Marines bullpen shut the door and Ishikawa would earn a win despite four home runs given up. Norio Tanabe tried to save his bullpen and Takahashi only needed one out, but he was not good the entire game and it backfired.

I (クリスチャン) can understand where Tanabe was thinking on this move as only one out was left, but the worst case scenario happened. Takahashi had to put the ball in play and get lucky more times than not and ultimately paid the price. His pitch count wasn't a problem, but the control was and he was sweating bullets in the rain as the nerves most likely got to him.

Marines 7, Lions 6

Game note:

-Yusei Kikuchi and Shogo Kimura were taken off the roster. Recently, Kikuchi was feeling stiffness in his non-throwing side and the team deactivated him as a precaution. Kimura tore his ACL in practice and will most likely miss the entire season.

-Ken Togame and Naoto Watanabe became the corresponding moves with the open roster spaces. Togame appeared in one inning as a middle reliever.

-Hotaka Yamakawa would get his first base hit of the 2016 season.  He was initially 0-13 after making the opening day roster.

===

In Game 2, Kota Futaki would face Ryoma Nogami in a crazy contest.  The Marines jumped out to a 3-0 lead thanks to some errors from Mori and Kaneko. The first run came from a rundown where Kaneko dropped the ball and the throw to Nogami at home plate was not in time after a review.

The Lions answered back with a solo HR from Asamura and a three-run HR from Yamakawa to make it 4-3. Alfredo Despaigne would hit a solo HR off Nogami in the next frame to even the score.

The Marines would get four hits in the top of the 5th but not score a run thanks to some poor decisions to send a runner home on sharply hit singles. Katsuya Kakunaka was tagged at the plate and Despaigne was sent on a flyball out, resulting in a 7-6-2 double play.

Seibu took advantage of the bottom frame as Mori hit a two-RBI single with the bases loaded to give them a 6-4 lead. Mejia's presence would make the Chiba outfield play back and normal lineout to CF resulted in a single, bringing in a third run for the inning.

Togame would appear for his second relief inning after a scoreless sixth and the disaster struck in the 7th. An error from Yuji Onizaki would bite and the damage would start. A barrage of base hits and poor defense would give the Marines an 8-7 lead. On what could have been routine outs, Yamakawa chose to attack home plate and not concede a run, getting no outs. Asamura would also throw to the plate and the Marines would keep the lineup moving.

Tamura looked like he would hit the dagger to end it with a two-out single up the middle making it 8-7. Esmerling Vasquez would then give up a solo HR in the 8th to Despaigne for his 2nd of the game.

All would not be lost yet, as the Lions would get the first two batters on base in the bottom of the 8th. After Naoto Watanabe bunted both runners over, Tatsuyuki Uemoto slapped a single up the middle and tied the game a 9-9 for an improbable score. Tatsushi Masuda worked a scoreless 9th inning and the Lions would go to extras in an affair that was already at four hours and counting.

In the top of the 10th, Shota Takekuma would load the bases with a leadoff double to Kakunaka, pitching around Despaigne and a walk to Navarro as there were no outs. Suzuki would hit an infield fly, followed by a strikeout of Shota Omine. Tamura would then lineout to shortstop and an epic Houdini kept the game tied.

Watanabe would get a one out single and Ginjiro Sumitani would bunt him over to second base. After Chiba pitcher Masaki Minami intentionally walked Shogo Akiyama, Kaneko would reach base in an unusual fashion. On what looked like a routine grounder, Kaneko would beat Minami to 1B and keep the game alive to load the bases.  Pinch hitting for a defensive substitute in Kyohei Nagae, Ryo Sakata, the last position player off the bench took the first pitch to RF and the Lions walked off for the 4th time this season.

This was an improbable miracle with both teams playing sloppy baseball from errors and poor base running decisions. It's not the best game to be proud of, but it wasn't a loss and they were able to hang tough with chances.

Lions 10, Marines 9 (10 innings)

Game note:

-The Lions waited nearly three months for their first Sayonara in 2015. They had three sayonara wins last year and have already reached four for this season.

-Nogami's defense let him down, as he only allowed one earned run through the HR by Despaigne. He continued to have another decent outing of at least 5 IP and three earned runs or less.

===

Game 3 saw Shinsaburo Tawata face Jason Standridge in the rubber match.  Chiba jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead that could've been worse as Tawata loaded the bases early on. Both runs would score on outs, with a flyout and a groundout.

A throwing error from Kaneko in the second inning made it 3-0 Marines. Nagae would get a start and had a two-out RBI to give the Lions their first run, but the next frame would be a killer. Tawata allowed a two-out, two-run HR to Tamura and it became a 5-1 ballgame. The Lions answered with another run thanks to a throwing error by Standridge, but Mejia grounded into a 6-4-3 double play which cleared the bases.

Tawata would last five innings and was fortunate to dodge some bullets to not allow more runs in the 4th and 5th innings. Akiyama had to rob Despaigne of some extra base hits with a leaping grab at the wall.

The Lions chipped at the lead in the 6th, with an RBI groundout from Yamakawa and a two-out RBI single from Uemoto to make it a one-run game.  Hirotaka Koishi failed to get a shutdown inning with a two-out RBI single from Shohei Kato. Yasuo Sano would give up more runs in the top of the 9th and the game was out of reach.  After walking and allowing multiple hits, it would be a nightmare 9th inning with four earned runs.

Tawata had a rough start, bats weren't bad against Standridge, but it wasn't enough to win. Pitching and control wasn't there for the rookie.

Marines 10, Lions 4

Game note:

-Nagae would get a modasho (three hits in one game).

-Asamura would leave the game after injuring himself running to 1B. His status is unclear.

===

The Lions pitching was just terrible from top to bottom without Kikuchi. We can only hope he will be back for the following week, because the team is nowhere near contention for a playoff spot with who is missing.

Is Asamura out for a long time?  Will Kazuhisa Makita return? When does Okawari-kun come back? There's too much uncertainty and the word "playoffs" needs to be out of our vocabulary for now as it's not looking good.

===

Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall 

Translation: Shinsaburo Tawata speaks about his first victory

Multiple signs from the Lions Oendan congratulated Tawata on his first win. The white sign on the right encourages him to believe in himself.

Shinsaburo Tawata earned his first career victory in NPB on June 19th in Jingu Stadium against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.

He went five innings allowing five earned runs, six hits, one walk, two HBP and two strikeouts. The Lions were able to take the lead in the top of the 6th to give him his first ichi-gun victory.

The Saitama Seibu Lions uploaded a video of an interview with him during the week. With interleague play over, the makeup period ended up being a week of mostly no games.

Here is a translated transcript of what Tawata said:

On his first win: 

"[Even] though I [allowed] some runs, I was glad to gain my first victory.
In my university days [at Fuji University], I pitched a [no hitter] game at Jingu Stadium, so [in] this stadium, I [may] have a [destiny]."

"On my 6th game as a starter, at last I got a victory and I felt that it had taken a little long."

===

On his best career game up to this point:

"The most impressive game was vs. the Chunichi [Dragons] because I [pitched] 8 innings with no earned runs. My fastball was very nice."

===

On conditioning and exercise:

"Everyday I have a game or exercise more and more. My [conditioning] is becoming [hard], so I [need to] take care of myself."

===

On which pitch is a primary focus:

"[The] sinker ball is my assignment."

===

On what his immediate goal is:

"My [goal] is to get win at Seibu Dome as soon as possible."

===

Closing statement to fans and viewers:

"I will concentrate my attention on every game and do my best game by game. Please root for me!"

===

Special Thanks to our friend "Maple Ash" for translation help.  

===

Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall