On September 22, 2026, the Giants-Hiroshima game at Mazda Stadium got off to a rough start for the Giants. In the 5ch live-thread, when reliever Funasako — who took over from starter Togo — struggled with his control and kept giving up runs, fans piled on with calls for a pitching change, like “just walk him” and “change the pitcher already, lol.” When the Giants finally tied it up in the 7th, comments of “tied it up!” brought a brief moment of calm, but debate over managerial decisions — including whether Sakamoto should have been asked to bunt — continued on.
If our boys don't tie it up in the 7th, we lose 98% of the time lol
143AnonymousSep 22, 2026 17:07
Re: #4
Tied it up!
19AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:46
Suekasa's been benched forever — if he gets a hit here I'll be shook lol
20AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:47
Just walk this guy too, change the pitcher already lol
21AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:47
22AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:48
He can't throw a strike anymore, he's gonna groove one right down the middle lol
31AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:50
Maybe they should've just left Togo in after all…
35AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:50
All he did was set up a save chance for the fireman (reliever who comes in to put out the fire) lol
38AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:52
The 'Fireman King' race between Horita and Funasako is fierce too (a joking title for the reliever who bails out the most messes)
41AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:52
Once Funasako falls behind in the count he just grooves it right down the middle lol
42AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:52
Trying to win with starter Togo and reliever Norimoto is a stretch
That's not what a team in a pennant race should be doing
46AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:53
At this rate they might as well have started with Funasako from the beginning
60AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:55
Their season's hanging by a thread this year
61AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:55
Giants fans are losing it because they won't send in a pinch hitter lol
63AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:55
No point holding them scoreless if we don't score either
64AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:55
This is the Fireman King right here lol
65AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:56
So, did you know that if they don't tie it up this inning, it's over? lolol
66AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:56
Guess they didn't want to break up the battery with Tamamura?
67AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:57
If we're gonna lose this embarrassingly to a zombie team, might as well let Hanshin take the pennant
68AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:57
He's literally only throwing low-and-away the whole time lol
74AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:58
Just got here, but seeing it's the 7th and already the 3rd time through the order starting from the 3-hole, I get the picture
75AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:58
Funasako's drinking Rihga Royal Hotel water — I can tell because I drink it on business trips too
77AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:58
Rare for them to carry momentum from defense into offense
78AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:58
A Darbeck homer
leading to a comeback win
— baseball's not gonna be that easy
82AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:59
Tamamura's a pitcher who gets shaky the third time through the order
83AnonymousSep 22, 2026 16:59
If his stuff's too slow to time, or if you just sit fastball, you can go deep
90AnonymousSep 22, 2026 17:00
Honestly, a bunt would be reasonable here
91AnonymousSep 22, 2026 17:00
That last swing looked like he was just trying to make contact, not go for a homer
93AnonymousSep 22, 2026 17:00
This is what happens when you don't pinch hit for Ishihara lol
95AnonymousSep 22, 2026 17:01
He's the strikeout king, but keep hitting like this and he'll get a contract next season too lol
97AnonymousSep 22, 2026 17:02
No way you bunt with the traditional cleanup hitter, come on lol
134AnonymousSep 22, 2026 17:06
They clearly think bunting is the smart play since they keep calling for it, so I don't get why they won't make Sakamoto do it
142AnonymousSep 22, 2026 17:07
Re: #134
Under Hara, there were times he had Sakamoto bunt even during his 40-homer season
Context and Talking Points
At the time this thread was posted on September 22, the Central League pennant race was in its final stretch, with Hanshin running away with the title and the Giants fighting Hiroshima, DeNA, and others for second place and below. As the material linked in post 6 shows, with Hanshin’s magic number closing in, a win over Hiroshima was directly tied to the Giants’ standing in the race. The thread split over two points of debate: whether it was right to pull starter Togo early and hand the game to the bullpen, and whether Sakamoto should have been made to bunt in the traditionally sacrosanct cleanup spot. Note that the live-thread excerpts quoted here only run through the Giants tying the game in the 7th — the final result of the game is not included in this excerpt.
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