Yamato Overcomes 3-1 Deficit To Take 2008 League of the Risi

[Matt]

Yamato Overcomes 3-1 Deficit To Take 2008 League of the Rising Sun Neo-Tokyo Cup

The Yamato Battleships overcame a 3-1 series deficit and near elimination in game 5 to take the 2008 League of the Rising Sun Neo-Tokyo Cup. Displaying the grit and determination of a true champion, Yamato fought to stay alive in the series, then brought home the Cup with surprisingly easy victories in games 6 and 7.

Series Racap.

Game 1. The series would open in Yamato, but the Edo Battousai were not polite guests. Behind the excellent pitching of Edo starter Keitaro Kodo, Edo would cruise to an easy 4-1 victory. Kodo would pitch 8 innings, scatter 7 hits and 2 walks while punching out 8. Yamato's Jesus 'Evil Ways' Luna, he of the nearly $15 million a year contract, would not fare as well, allowing 4 runs in 7.1 innings and picking up the loss. Shiro Shimizu would pitch a perfect 9th for Edo. The Edo offense would be led by leadoff hitter and centerfielder Kansuke Murata, who had two hits, 3 stolen bases, and 2 runs scored. The lone Yamato run would come on a Takashi Agano solo home run in the 4th inning.
Edo 4, Yamato 1. Edo leads series 1-0.

Game 2. Edo would again play the part of impolite guest, this time riding the masterful pitching performance of Takao Sakurai to an easy 6-0 victory. Sakurai would pitch a complete game, allowing just 3 harmless singles, not walking a single batter, and striking out 8. The offense would again be led by Kansuke Murata, whose 3 run home run in the 7th inning, his 3rd of the postseason, would put the game well out of Yamato's reach.
Edo 6, Yamato 0. Edo leads series 2-0.

Game 3. With the series moving to Edo, and the Battousai having stolen the home field advantage away from Yamato, the Battleships needed to strike quick to get back into the series. Tabito Matsushima would get things started for Yamato with a 3 home run in the second inning. Takashi Agano would follow with a 2 run blast in the 3rd inning. Eduardo Carbajal would add a 3 run blast in the 9th inning, and Yamato would cruise to an easy 9-3 victory. Akihisa Yamamoto would pitch 7 innings, allowing just 2 runs, both coming on solo home runs, to pick up the victory. Randall Kreiger, who won the LRS-JPN BBG Pitcher of the Month Award for September, took the loss for Edo.
Yamato 9, Edo 3. Edo leads series 2-1.

Game 4. Yamato would strike in the top of the third for a single run, but Edo's Morihiro Nakamura would hit a two run home run in the bottom of the frame to give Edo a 2-1 lead. Yamato would tie the game in the top of the 6th on Antonio Lopez's rbi single. But again the lead would not last long, with Edo regaining the lead in the bottom of the 6th on Carlos Gomez's rbi single. And that's where the score would remain, as the Edo bullpen shut down the Battleships over the final frames and Edo took a commanding 3-1 series lead with a 3-2 victory in game 4. Chet Parker picked up his second win of the postseason, allowing just 2 runs over 7 innings. Shiro Shimizu notched his second save of the series and third of the postseason with a perfect 9th inning. Yamato's Yoshisada Rin would take the loss, despite striking 10 batters in 7.1 innings.
Edo 3, Yamato 2. Edo leads series 3 -1.

Game 5. Yamato comes into the game facing elimination. Sending their ace Jesus Luna to the mound, the Battleship are hoping for a much different result than game 1. It looked good for Yamato early, as Luna cruised rather easily through the first 5 innings. Yamato would get a solo home run from Naohiro Kumatani in the second inning for an early 1-0 lead. In the third inning, Yamato would strike for 4 more runs, this time on a 3 run home run by Eduardo Carbajal, which was immediatly followed by a solo shot from Tabito Matsushima. But the wheels would come off for Luna in the bottom of the 6th, as Edo would put together a 6 run inning despite just having one extra base hit, a double. Yamato would strike back to tie the game in the top of the 7th, when Isao Kono would double in a run. The bullpens would take over the game, and the game would drag on with neither team able to score again until the 15th inning, when Yamato's Masamichi Yokota would double in the eventual game winning run. Reliever Hidehira Ine would pick up the win with 5 masterful inning of relief, scattering just 2 hits while striking out 2. Ine's performance makes him the unsung hero of the series for Yamato.
Yamato 7, Edo 6, 15 innings. Edo leads series 3-2.

Game 6. Having survived near elimination, the Battleships return home filled with confidence. Edo would strike for a first inning run off Yamato starter Jotaro Tanaka, but unfortunately, it would be the only run they would score this day. Yamato would strike for a run to tie the game in the third, and then blow the game open with 2 in the 6th, 4 in the 7th, and 2 in the 8th. Eduardo Carbajal's 3 run home run in the 7th was probably the key blow. Tanaka would allow just the one run in 8 innings to pick up the win, while Edo starter Takao Sakurai would be done in by his own wildness, allowing 7 runs on 6 hits and 6 walks in 6.2 while striking out 5.
Yamato 9, Edo 1. Series tied at 3 games each.

Game 7. It all comes down to one game, and the momentum is clearly with the home town Battleships, while Edo, having let a chance to win in game 5 get away, now look like a deer in the headlights. Edo would jump out to a 3-0 lead after 3 innings, but Yamato would overpower the Battousai with a 6 run 4th inning. The air was clearly gone from Edo's sails at this point, and the Battleships would tack on a single run in the 7th, and then cap the barrage with a 3 run home run from Eduardo Carbajal in the 8th for the final margin of victory. Akihisa Yamamoto would pick up his second win of the series, allowing just 3 runs in 7.2 innings, allowing 7 hits, 0 walks, and striking out 9. Randall Kreiger would pick up his second loss of a dissappointing series for him, allowing 7 runs in 6.2 innings despite striking out 12 batters and walking just one.
Yamato 10, Edo 3. Yamato wins 2008 League of the Rising Sun Neo-Tokyo Cup.

[John]

I was really hoping someone would tackle a recap of this amazing series. Since this happened right after the conclusion of the PEBA playoffs I was following this pretty closely. The 2008 Neo-Tokyo Cup was one of the most compelling series I've seen in PEBA yet. That Game 5... wow! 15 innings with Yamato staring down elimination, yet they pulled it out and that really changed the whole tenor of the series. It was also a great deal of fun to watch former PEBA players as well as upcoming free agents.

I'm curious: How many of you check out the action in the foreign leagues? I'm not expecting that people are hanging on every Winter League box score, of course, but I wonder do any of you make it a point to give those leagues a quick scope between sims? I'd also be curious to note how many of the teams that are checking out the foreign leagues are also experiencing success in signing key foreign free agents.

[Tyler]

I'm curious: How many of you check out the action in the foreign leagues?

I check every third sim or so.