Perfect until the seventh inning, 135 pitches in 8.2 innings, 7 scoreless innings, scary opening pitchers
Mar 28, 2025
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He continued his perfect pitching through the seventh inning. He handled 21 consecutive hitters from Hiroto Kobuta at No. 1 in the top of the first inning to Yuya Ogo at No. 3 in the top of the seventh inning. Rakuten hitters pitched overwhelmingly, not even one could step on first base.
The confrontation with Rakuten rookie Louis Muneyama, a first-place infielder who was highly interested, also ended blandly. He struck out swinging in the first inning and induced a ground ball to the second base in the fourth and seventh innings in a row. Muneyama started as a second - shortstop and went 1 for 4. He made his first professional hit in his last at-bat in the top of the ninth inning.
In the top of the eighth inning with a 2-0 lead, the perfect was broken.
Tatsumi Ryosuke, the leadoff hitter, was sent out as a first baseman infield hit. He grounded out No. 5 Asamura Hideto to shortstop and got a right-handed hit by No. 6 pinch hitter Maikel Franco. It became a source of concern to let the runner go. With one out and runners on the first and third bases, he allowed one run as a sacrifice.
Rakuten tied the score at the top of the ninth inning, trailing 1-2. He drove in three hits against right-hander Andres Machado, who took the mound after Miyagi, bringing the game to square one. Miyagi's victory flew away.
The victory was decided after two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Orix laughed at the end. With runners on second base, Orix No. 9 Kenya Wakatsuki finally hit a hit. After finishing last in the exhibition game, Orix took a fresh first step.
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Miyagi took the mound wearing a uniform with Ace's number 18 on it. He inherited the number written by Yoshinobu Yamamoto (27, LA Dodgers), a senior player who entered the Major League. Yamamoto left last year and 18 times were empty in a year.
Meanwhile, Hanshin Tigers right-hander Shoki Murakami (27) pitched eight ⅔ innings against Hiroshima Carp with four hits and no runs to win. With two outs in the ninth inning, he threw as many as 135 pitches. Murakami was replaced at first and third bases with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning with a 4-0 lead. Iwazaki Suguru, who took the mound in relief, handled the last out count. Coach Fujikawa Kyuji Hanshin reported his first win in his debut as a head coach.
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The aces who started in the opening game made a brilliant comeback.
Reporter Min Chang-ki huelva@sportschosun.com
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
