This one was nothing like the first two, especially in that the BayStars did not crank one out of the park early. The losers would go home for good, and the winners would advance to face the Central League champs. Neither team’s pitchers seemed interested in giving up a run, and neither team’s hitters seemed interested in scoring one. Ultimately, there were no RBI hits… but guess what? THE TIGERS WON!

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Hanshin 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 9 1 DeNA 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 1

Top 1-5 – Lots of Runners, Not a Run

One runner in the first on a hit batsman. Two in the second thanks to a pair of hits. One more in the third, followed by three in the fourth and one in the fifth. Two bunts, a few ground outs, a few fly outs, and nothing to show for it. Fortunately…

Bottom 1-5 – Dominance from Two Young Southpaws

Haruto Takahashi brought his A-game, allowing just a hit to Soto in the first (which was followed perfectly with a Tsutsugoh double play) through three innings. He was pulled at that point, as the Tigers had a good chance in the fourth to score (see above). Hiroya Shimamoto pitched almost equally well in the next two frames, also giving up just a single hit and not allowing anyone to touch second base. As a result…

Hanshin 0, Yokohama 0

Top 6 – You Gotta Be Good to Be Lucky

Shun Takayama led off the inning with a double to left-center, and (surprise!) got bunted over to third. For once, the strategy worked, as their pitcher threw a one-hopper to the backstop. Stalemate broken!

https://twitter.com/yakyuragu/status/1181162568468983811?s=20

Hanshin 1, Yokohama 0

Bottom 7 – Bobbled Ball Returns the Favor

Suguru Iwazaki was tasked with throwing multiple innings, after having pitched multiple innings yesterday and an inning on Saturday. He got gassed here, filled the bases (two hits and a walk). He had a chance at a Houdini-worthy double play, but Fumiya Hojoh twice booted/bobbled it, and the tying run crossed the plate. Rafael Dolis came in and made sure the ‘Stars didn’t take the lead.

Yokohama 1, Hanshin 1

Top 8 – No Hits + Poor Control = 1 Run!

Actually the Tigers got some hits in the inning, but not before the go-ahead run scored on: Takayama getting beaned, Kai Ueda coming in as a pinch-runner and stealing second, advancing to third on a wild pitch, and scoring on a Ryutaro Umeno sacrifice fly. We actually stuffed the bases before recording a third out. Slim lead heading into the last two innings!

https://twitter.com/yakyuragu/status/1181179191783346179?s=20

Hanshin 2, Yokohama 1

Bottom 9 – Clamping Down

Kyuji Fujikawa actually took the mound in the eighth, and all sorts of scary scenarios went through my mind: what if he needs too many pitches to finish the inning? Will he still be good to go in the last frame? Fortunately, he needed just nine. As the rain (which had been falling all night) started to intensify in the bottom of the last inning, he struck out Tsutsugoh on an inside fastball. Then to put his usual scare into Tigers fans, he walked Lopez. A fly-out to first from Miyazaki brought it down to one final hitter: Tomo Otosaka, who walked off Game 2 with a home run. Could he do it two games in a row? The answer is… NO. Harmless ground out to pitcher.

https://twitter.com/yakyuragu/status/1181192883174400005?s=20

Final Score: Hanshin 2, Yokohama 1

WP: Dolis (2-0); SV: Fujikawa (2)

So there you have it. Our guys took the series and will move on to Tokyo where they will start a best-of-seven against the Giants already down one. (That’s NPB rules, like it or not. Oddly enough, I am in favor of this one.)

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