Game RECAP April 2 / 2025 vs Baystars
RECAP
A Game That Took Everything Out of Us
I was completely drained after watching this one… and Tigers manager Fujikawa’s simple comment, “day by day,” said it all.
Game 2 of the home-opening series at Kyocera Dome saw the defending champions, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, come to town. It was a total back-and-forth battle: the Tigers fell behind early, took the lead, lost it again, fought back once more, and even added insurance runs. But then, the unthinkable—our rock-solid setup man Guerra gave up three runs with two outs in the eighth. From there, it turned into a full-blown war of attrition, with both teams exhausting almost every player on the bench. The result? A 12-inning marathon ending in a hard-fought draw after nearly four and a half hours of baseball.
Guerra, Off His Rhythm
Guerra is known for performing better when he’s pitching on back-to-back days or getting consistent work. But today, he’d had a bit of a layoff. While his velocity was there, the ball just didn’t seem to have the usual bite. Something felt… off.
The DeNA lineup managed to get solid contact, even sending balls over the outfielders’ heads—something that was almost unthinkable against Guerra last season. It looked like he was missing that explosive edge he usually brings to the mound.
The Cleanup Trio Awakens
On a brighter note, the bats finally came alive — especially the heart of the order. Sato, Morishita, and Ohyama all stepped up, delivering as the power core they’re meant to be. Once the bottom of the lineup finds that extra spark, we might just see the return of the relentless offensive machine that defined the 2023 championship team.
It was a game Hanshin should have won, but taking a step back… we also didn’t lose. And that matters. It was the kind of game that drains both players and fans alike, but like Fujikawa-san said:
“Day by day.”
On to tomorrow. 
Box
| Order | Pos | # | Name | AB | R | H | RBI | SB | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (CF) | 5 | Chikamoto | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | K | – | – | G3 | G3 | – | BB | BB | – | – | F7 | – |
| 2 | (2B) | 51 | Nakano | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | F8 | – | – | BB | – | G6 | SH1 | F8 | – | – | BB | – |
| 3 | (3B) | 8 | Sato | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | K | – | – | 2B① | – | 1B | K | – | F4 | – | F9 | – |
| 4 | (RF) | 1 | Morishita | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | 1B | – | 2B① | – | 1B8 | IBB | – | L6 | – | 1B | – |
| 5 | (1B) | 3 | Ohyama | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | – | GDP5 | – | G5 | – | 2B① | 3B9② | – | F8 | – | – | BB |
| PR | 6 | Takatera | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 6 | (LF) | 58 | Maegawa | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | G4 | – | F9 | – | IBB | F7 | – | – | – | – | – |
| P | 00 | Guerra | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| SS | 38 | Obata | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | BB | – | – | SH1 | |
| 7 | (SS) | 0 | Kinami | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | G5 | – | F7 | BB① | – | 2B | – | – | – | – |
| PR | 62 | Ueda | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| P | 13 | Iwazaki | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| P | 54 | Ishii | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| PH | 12 | Sakamoto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | SH3 | – | – | – | |
| P | 18 | Ihara | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| P | 24 | Kudo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| PH | 33 | Itohara | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | G3 | |
| 8 | (C) | 2 | Umeno | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | F8 | – | 1B | K | SH2 | – | – | K | – | K |
| 9 | (P) | 99 | Beasley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | G4 | – | SH2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| P | 47 | Kirishiki | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| PH | 94 | Haraguchi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | K | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| P | 37 | Oyokawa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| LF | 52 | Shimada | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | F6 | – | G6 | – | – | – | |
| TEAM | 39 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| # | Name | NP | BF | IP | H | HR | BB | HBP | K | WP | BK | R | ER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99 | Beasley | 87 | 23 | 5.1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| 47 | Kirishiki | 13 | 3 | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| HP | 37 | Oyokawa | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 00 | Guerra | 27 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| HP | 13 | Iwazaki | 13 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| HP | 54 | Ishii | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| HP | 18 | Ihara | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Kudo | 17 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TEAM | 187 | 51 | 12 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | ||