Lotte WINS 4-2, Satozaki Retires a Hero Orix: Kazumasa Yoshida (5-5 3.56) @ Lotte: Hideaki Wakui (7-12 4.31) Tonight we honored Tomoya Satozaki and his retirement after 16 seasons as catcher for Our Marines. Sato-chan was with Lotte for two Nippon Series Championships, 2005 & 2010, also winning World Baseball Classic Gold in 2006. Injuries …
Tag: Tomoya Satozaki
Lotte News and Notes: 17 Sep 2014
You might think that with the generally miserable season Our Marines have had that there would be no great news to share. Au contraire, mon frere! There’s all sorts of interesting things going on, many of them quite good!
Orix @ Lotte, 22-23 April 2014
Going 1-1-1 vs Daiei over the weekend is a damn sight better than the first series of the season, but it’s hardly ideal. Small steps. Now it’s Orix’s turn to come to frigid QVC, this time for a 2 game set.
Wakui gets the nod in game 1, fresh off his nice work in Omiya last week. It’ll be Furuya and Igawa in game 2.
2014 Season Preview: Position Players
We just took a look yesterday at the pitchers for the 2014 version of Our Marines. The pitching situation is pretty straightforward with a lot of depth both in the rotation and in the pen. The situation for position players is a bit different, though, with lots more variables to consider.
Climax Stage Zero vs Hawks : 21-23 Sep 2013
Did I say we were 5-8, and the last series was a “must win”? Oh, I did, and we didn’t, and that 5-6 is now 5-8. Daiei, once 3.5 back, took the lead for second place before dropping back on percentage points on Thursday. Rakuten and first place are just a mirage in the distance – we’ve got 15 games of hard battle to fight to wrap up second. The first three are this weekend.
It’s a Sweep! Hamu Series: 30 August – 1 September 2013
It’s Legends Series time, and who doesn’t love an excuse to break out the throwback uniforms? Honestly these old unis – they’re the old road blues from the Orions days – are my favorite Lotte uniform. Love the blue with the red accent, and I wish we played in the Orions-era uniforms (both road and home) more often.
Fukuoka Series: 27-29 August, 2013
Yet another critical series for Our Marines, this one just made more critical by the failures in Sendai. Lotte comes in 5.5 back of first with just 33 games to go, but more importantly is just one game up on Daiei and 3.5 up on 4th place Seibu. This series is about as must-win as an August series can be.
Slamming the Door On Seibu
The last series of the nine game homestand got started on Tuesday as Our Marines faced off against the hated Lions of Seibu, with Greisinger on the hill vs former ace Wakui. On this night, Greisinger was the one to look like a former Sawamura award winner and Wakui, well, didn’t, as Chiba shut out Seibu for a 4-0 victory.
Lotte Walks Off in 11!
Things didn’t start pretty for Our Marines on Wednesday night. The first place Rakuten Eagles started the game by putting a crooked number 4 on the scoreboard in the first inning off starter Seth Greisinger. Seth managed to settle down though, going 5 innings while only giving up one additional run. This kept Chiba within striking distance, allowing for a comeback win in one of the most exciting game thus far in 2013. Veteran catcher Satozaki hit a sayonara solo home run in the 11th, giving Lotte a 6-5 11th inning walk off win!
New Lefty Ace Wins Again!
Less than two months ago, an unexpected start by Takuya Furuya resulted in a no-no near miss. Since then, Furuya has been a fixture in the rotation, easily the best pitcher for Our Marines since the resumption of Pacific League play. Tonight, Furuya pitched another gem vs PL leaders Tohoku Rakuten – 7 innings and 8 strikeouts – and the bullpen took it to the finish for a stirring 3-0 Lotte victory.