Our Marines won back to back games in the Sapporo Dome on Friday and Saturday, taking Friday night’s game 4-1, and Saturday’s game 7-3. Here’s a quick recap of each…
Orix Series Recap 7/9 & 7/10
Our Marines hosted the Orix Buffaloes for a two game stint. Let’s start with the good news. Chiba jumped out to 3-0 leads in both games. The bad news? We blew both leads and would win neither game. Orix and Lotte played to a draw on Tuesday night, finishing tied 3-3. On Wednesday, the Buffaloes won 4-3.
Unlucky 7’s – 7 July 2013
Totaling up everything after Sunday’s 11-2 loss, our Marines were outscored by the Lions 25-7 while being swept in 3 games. We are now riding a 5 game losing streak, and are a perfect 0-5 in the month of July. We now sit 2 games back of Rakuten in second place in the very tightly packed PL standings, with Seibu breathing down our necks 1 game behind us in the third spot.
Yick, The Sequel – Lotte @ Seibu, 6 July 2013
Do NOT be fooled by the relatively close final score – Our Marines get beat down solidly at Seibu Dome this afternoon. Not even having this season’s ace Nishino on the hill could stop the bleeding today. Nishino got shelled. The bullpen – not good. The offense – non existent. This all added up to a 7-3 loss to the Lions.
Yick – Lotte @ Seibu, 5 July 2013
Tonight at the Seibu Dome, Lotte bats launched a 7-hit barrage against Seibu starter Yusei Kikuchi – 2 doubles, 5 singles, and throwing in 5 walks for good measure. Seth Greisinger took the mound for Our Marines, looking at times super sharp, holding Seibu to hits in only two innings and going 17 batters in a row without giving up a hit at one point. I don’t even have to tell you how this one ended up, do I? Seibu 7, Lotte 2. Egads.
Two’s Company – Rakuten Series Recap (July 2 – July 4)
Our Marines traveled to Sendai for a three game set with the second place Rakuten Golden Eagles, bringing with them a two game lead over Rakuten in the Pacific League. Two blowout losses (by a combined score of 15-4) and a rain-out later, and we are now no longer in sole possession of first place. Two poor outings by Lotte starting pitching are in part what allowed the Eagles to stake their claim for a share of the top spot in the PL. At nearly the half way point of the season, the two teams now find themselves tied with 40-30 records – Lotte has played one additional game resulting in a tie (40-30-1).
Softbank Series: Savior Saburo, Slugging Salvo
Forget all that stuff that happened on Friday – we are all about good news at We Love Marines, and we want to celebrate the great weekend Our Marines put together! On Saturday, Lotte got a sayonara single from Saburo in the bottom of the 9th to walk away with a 3-2 victory. And on Sunday, Lotte bats beat the heck out of Softbank arms to the tune of 11 runs on 17 hits, cruising to a 11-3 win. This makes Our Marines the first Pacific League team to 40 wins!
Quick Recaps: 6/27 & 6/28
Quick recaps for the games of 6/27 (@Orix) & 6/28 (v.SoftBank)
One Hit Wonder
Talk about your unexpected surprises! We’ve been lamenting the lack of quality starters in the Lotte rotation for ages now, and it seems we may have had one in our midst the whole time and not known it. Quality? You want quality? My buddy Takuya Furuya – plucked from ni-gun and the bullpen, making his first career ichi-gun start – utterly and completely dominated Orix in Osaka, decisively grabbing a 7-0 victory in one-hit style.
All Sizzle, No Steak
Tonight at the Kyocera Dome, Lotte bats launched a 10-hit barrage against Orix starter Chihiro Kaneko – 2 doubles, a triple, and throwing in 2 walks for good measure. The Baby-Faced Killer took the mound for Our Marines, looking at times super sharp, holding Orix to hits in only two innings and recording 10 outs in a row at one point. I don’t even have to tell you how this one ended up, do I? Orix 4, Lotte 1.