The ace lost two, ERA 11.324 hitters with a 0.080 batting average, and Softbank, the favorite to win, is the sole last place in 4,271 days

Apr 05, 2025

The ace lost two, ERA 11.324 hitters with a 0.080 batting average, and Softbank, the favorite to win, is the sole last place in 4,271 days
Softbank ace Arihara. He started against Seibu on the 4th and allowed six runs in 3.1 innings. After allowing seven runs in seven innings in the opening game against Chiba Lotte, he showed difficulty in two consecutive games. Photo capture = Sports Nippon Homepage



The ace lost two, ERA 11.324 hitters with a 0.080 batting average, and Softbank, the favorite to win, is the sole last place in 4,271 days
Softbank No. 4 hitter Yamakawa fell into a severe batting slump at the beginning of the season. He hit 0.080 without a home run in six games. Photo capture = Softbank Hawks SNS
The ace lost two, ERA 11.324 hitters with a 0.080 batting average, and Softbank, the favorite to win, is the sole last place in 4,271 days
Seibu ace Imai (left) pitched seven scoreless innings against Softbank on the 4th and earned his first win of the season. Coach Nishiguchi also reported his first win of the head coach on the same day. Photo capture = Seibu Lions SNS
The ace continues to hit hard, and the fourth batter does not hit a batting average of 10%. The key hitter, who ranked No. 1 in batting last year and was named MVP of the season, was out due to injury. The solid central axis of Tuta collapsed. The strongest player in the Pacific League, the Softbank Hawks, is shaking.

Softbank suffered a 0-6 defeat at home in Fukuoka on the 4th. He recorded a home win rate of 0.698 last year, and lost all four of his home games this year. But the opponent is Seibu Lions. It gave Seibu its first win of the season, which had been losing four consecutive games since the opening game. Coach Fumiya Nishiguchi reported his first win for the head coach in five games.

I exchanged seats with Seibu when I gave up this game. Since July 24, 2023, it has fallen to 4,272 days, the first time in 12 years that it has fallen to last place alone. No matter how early in the season, the fall of last year's league winner and the likely favorite this season is shocking.




Softbank is the best winning team in both leagues last year. He recorded 91 wins, 3 draws and 49 losses and a winning percentage of 0.650 points. There is a whopping 42 games difference from the lowest Seibu (49 wins, 3 draws and 91 losses, a winning rate of 0.350).

It creaked from the start. It lost its opening three consecutive games to the Chiba Lotte Marines, a mid-range powerhouse. He led 1-0 in the opening game and suffered a 2-8 come-from-behind loss. The second and third games of the home opening series were also reversed. In particular, Game 3 was painful. They failed to keep a 4-0 lead and lost 7-4.

Softbank won its first game against the Nippon Ham Fighters 5-1 on the 1st. He lost consecutive games and lost two games in a row. As of Thursday, the team has won by one and lost five games. The team's batting average is 0.234 and the team's ERA is 4.83. The team's ERA is the only four-point range among the 12 teams in both leagues.




Last winter's main catcher, Takuya Guy, left the team. He became an FA and moved to the Yomiuri Giants. Some point to Guy's transfer, who is considered Japan's best catcher, as one of the reasons for Softbank's sluggish mound.

The ace lost two, ERA 11.324 hitters with a 0.080 batting average, and Softbank, the favorite to win, is the sole last place in 4,271 days
Kondo, who played three games and left due to injury. He can return in two to three months after undergoing back disc surgery. Photo capture = Softbank Hawks SNS
The ace lost two, ERA 11.324 hitters with a 0.080 batting average, and Softbank, the favorite to win, is the sole last place in 4,271 days
Lotte coach Yoshii Chiba (left) and Softbank coach Kokubo at a press conference prior to the opening series. Chiba Lotte swept three games of the opening series. Photo capture = Softbank Hawks SNS
Ace Kohei Arihara was replaced after failing to fill the fourth inning. He pitched scoreless pitching until the third inning, but suddenly collapsed in the fourth inning. No. 3 Tyler Nevin was thrown out, No. 4 Leandro Cedeno was hit to center field, and No. 5 Seiya Watanabe walked. It was very different from the way he grabbed three out-counts with five pitches in the third inning.

With the bases loaded with no outs, Seibu No. 6 Daizu Nomura hit a timely hit. The pushed ball fell on the right-wing line and hit the fence. The double brought home two runners.




Seibu, who added one more point with a sacrifice hit, ran away with three runs with an infield hit and consecutive timely hits. The SoftBank bench could no longer be watched. With one out and runners on the first and second bases, Arihara came off the mound.

Arihara is the starting pitcher for the opening game for the second consecutive year. He went to the opening game against Chiba Lotte on the 28th of last month and allowed seven runs in seven innings. He lost two games with an 11.32 ERA. It is an unexpected slump that makes you doubt your physical condition.

Coach Hiroki Kokubo defended the ace, saying, `It was not lucky.' Kokubo lowered Snaga and Richard, who started as eighth-third baseman, to the second division. Richard took the opportunity with difficulty as the main third baseman, Ryoya Gurihara, was injured. I expected a long shot, but I couldn't live up to it. He started six games in a row and had a batting average of 0.091 (2 hits in 22 times at bat). He had 12 strikeouts, two in each game.

The centerline has weakened a lot.

The ace lost two, ERA 11.324 hitters with a 0.080 batting average, and Softbank, the favorite to win, is the sole last place in 4,271 days
Softbank main catcher Guy moved to Yomiuri last winter. Manager Abe is handing over the uniform to Guy. Photo capture =Miuri Giants SNS
Last year, Kondo Kenske, the No. 1 hit-on-base percentage, played three games and left due to injury. I had a back disc surgery on the 2nd. You have to wait two to three months for your return. Last year's home run-run king, Hotaka Yamakawa, has been suffering from severe poor batting performance. He has a batting average of 0.080 (2 hits in 25 at-bats) without a home run in six games.

I don't know baseball.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.