Unstoppable.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (25), the ace of the Orix Buffaloes, is running toward winning four gold medals for the third consecutive year. He ranked first in wins, earned run average, and winning percentage, and even ranked first in strikeouts. Chiba Lotte Marines’ ‘monster pitcher’ Sasaki Loki (22) is expected to play solo in a situation where he is out of power due to an injury.안전놀이터
Yamamoto started in the home game against the Rakuten Eagles held at Kyocera Dome in Osaka on the 1st and pitched 7 scoreless innings. He led the way to a 6-2 victory and posted his 10th win of the season.
Pacific League and Central League, the first 10 wins in both leagues. With 106 pitches, he faced 27 batters up to the 7th inning and struck out 7 without 4 pitches.
He overcame the initial crisis well. After one death in the top of the first inning, he sent opponent No. 2 Hiroto Kobukata with an infield hit to the second baseman. In the ensuing 2nd out 1st base, Hideto Asamura hit in the 4th, and 2nd out, 1st and 2nd base.
In an instant, the fire was put out. He turned 5th Michael Franco with a 3-pitch strikeout. He threw forkballs one after another, resulting in three consecutive misses.
In the top of the 6th inning, another runner came out in scoring position. A similar situation developed in the first inning. Leading batter Kobukata hit a double in right field. In the ensuing 1 out 2nd base, Asamura gave up a heavy hit and 1 out 1st and 3rd base.
Like the best ace, I pressed lightly. He threw a curveball at Franco and induced a grounder on third base. 5 (3rd baseman)-4 (2nd baseman)-3 (1st baseman) The situation ends with a double hit.
Yamamoto said, “It was fortunate that I gave up a hit and blocked it with no runs.” He also said, “I will pitch for praise in the next game.” It seems that 7 hits were on his mind.
This year, we will continue our unstoppable progress.
He made 15 starts and made 14 quality starts (6 or more innings, 3 earned runs or less). He posted double-digit wins for the third year in a row, and was the first to reach 10 wins for the second year in a row. Last March, he participated in the WBC (World Baseball Classic) as the Japanese representative and returned, but the aftereffects of starting the season early are nowhere to be found.
In 2021 he went 18-5 with an earned run average of 1.39-206 strikeouts-0.783 and in 2022 he went 15-5 with a -1.68-205 strikeout-0.750 win rate. For the first time in the history of Japanese professional baseball, he won four pitchers for two consecutive years. He won the Pacific League MVP and Sawamura Award for the second year in a row.
This year, he was beaten by Sasaki, who grew terribly until the first half. However, Sasaki, who led the team in ERA, strikeouts, and win rate, left after his first appearance in the second half due to a muscle injury in his side. It is possible to return only in mid-September. As Sasaki failed to fill the required innings, Yamamoto rose to first place in three categories excluding strikeouts.
As of the 1st, 10 wins and 4 losses-average ERA 1.67-114 strikeouts, winning rate 0.714. #1 Sasaki with 130 strikeouts