The flight time was 7 seconds. It was a home run that drew a large parabola in the night sky.
Munetaka Murakami of the Yakult Swallows hit a home run in two consecutive games. He escaped the sluggishness at the beginning of the season and rose to the top of the monthly home run and RBI in July, regaining the momentum of last year’s home run king.
Yakult won 7-4 in a match against Yokohama DeNA Baystars held at Meiji Jingu Stadium in Japan on the 30th.
Murakami, who started as third baseman 4 times, played an active role with 2 hits, 1 home run and 1 run in 4 at-bats. He hit a runaway home run in the eighth inning to lead by one run.
Murakami hit homers in two consecutive games following the previous day, recording his 19th of the season, approaching Kazuya Okamoto (Yomiuri, 22), the Central League home run leader, by three runs.
Murakami recorded a batting average of .31 with 7 homers and 17 RBIs in 21 games in July. 1 in the home run and RBI category for the month of July. If the pace continues in the second half, it seems possible to recapture the top home run.
After top hitter Hidetaka Namiki reached base with a hit in the first inning, Yakult made one run and third base with a stolen base and a pitcher’s wild throw. Shiomi Yasutaka scored the first point with a timely hit. Murakami connected the 1st and 3rd base chances with a left-handed hit. After that, he got the second point with an infield grounder.
Yakult hit a solo home run in the 4th inning and gave up 1 run, but immediately concentrated on 3 hits in the bottom of the 4th inning and ran away with a score of 4-1. In the 5th inning, they added 1 point to widen the score to 5-1.
The mid-game crisis came. With 6 hits and consecutive walks, he was put on the verge of being loaded with bases safely. He gave up one point with the catcher’s fastball, and scored an additional run on a sacrifice fly from second and third base. After that, it was narrowed down to 5-4 with infield grounders from 1st and 3rd base.안전놀이터
Murakami, who started as the lead batter in the 8th inning, hit a wedge home run. He pulled a fastball from the ball count 3-ball-1 strike and fired a solo home run that went over the right wall. After Murakami’s home run, Yakult escaped 7-4 with two doubles.
Nikkan Sports, a Japanese media outlet, said, “Murakami’s home run hit had a flight time of 7 seconds. The overwhelming parabola drawn in the night sky at Meiji Jingu Stadium fell in front of the right spectator seat.”
Shingo Takatsu, coach of Yakult, praised Murakami for his two consecutive home runs, saying, “The blow that changed the flow with one shot was very big.”
Murakami, who came close to the top home run by three runs, said, “We still have to move forward. I want to do my best so that I can leave a good result at the end of the season.”