Maddox shut out 92 pitches with a 141km/h fastball, and last year's 2- to 35-year-old veteran found his way

Apr 04, 2025

Maddox shut out 92 pitches with a 141kmh fastball, and last year's 2- to 35-year-old veteran found his way
Ace's revival. Ogawa pitched for the first time against Hiroshima on the 3rd and recorded a shutout with two hits and no runs in nine innings. He earned his second career Maddox shutout. Photo capture = Yart Swallows SNS



Maddox shut out 92 pitches with a 141kmh fastball, and last year's 2- to 35-year-old veteran found his way
The ace, who won only two games last year, was revived. Ogawa, a 35-year-old veteran, threw a shutout against Hiroshima on the 3rd. Photo capture = Yakult Swallows SNS
Maddox shut out 92 pitches with a 141kmh fastball, and last year's 2- to 35-year-old veteran found his way
Ogawa pitched for the first time of the season against Hiroshima on the 3rd and pitched nine innings of two hits, no four outs and shutout. It is the 11th shutout song in three years since 2022. Photo capture = Yakult Swallows SNS
Yakult Swallows right-hander Yasuhiro Ogawa (35) had his worst season last year. Ace, who has been a starter for the opening game seven times, went in 12 games and pitched 62 innings. 2-5 - 4.65 ERA. All quantifiable figures hit their lowest point since joining in 2013. Ogawa is a former rookie of the year who posted '16 wins' in 2013, and has exceeded his career '100 wins' in 2023.

The departure was delayed due to poor condition. He won his first game against the Hanshin Tigers in late April. However, the season ended without recovering the pace that fell. The sluggish selection of the main players, who won double-digit games a year ago, was linked to the team's performance. Yakult, the winner of the 2021-2022 Central League, finished fifth for the second consecutive year.

2024 was the final season of a four-year contract. Ogawa, who hit the bottom, renewed his contract for an annual salary of 110 million yen, which was reduced by 50 million yen. It looked like it was going downhill to anyone's eyes.




35 years old, in his 13th year of joining. Ace is back.

The Hiroshima Carp match was held at Meiji Jingu Stadium in Tokyo on the 3rd. Ogawa took the mound again in the top of the ninth inning with a 3-0 lead. Until the eighth inning, he had two hits and no runs in 84 pitches. It was a shutout if he stopped one inning. I was in good shape. The number of pitches was also low. Ogawa met home fans' expectations.

He struck out pinch hitter Takayoshi Noma, who came out as the leadoff hitter, with three pitches. He caught two strikes with a fastball of 141 kilometers per hour and induced a swing and miss with a fork ball. The next batter, No. 1 Shoichi Futamata, hit the first fork ball thrown by Ogawa. a grounder to third base. I caught two out-counts with four balls.




After 2 days, Hiroshima bench is Tamura??He put up Ske as a pinch hitter. He caught the last batter with a fork ball. He threw a fork ball at 1B2S and handled it with a ground ball to shortstop. 불같은 강속구
Maddox shut out 92 pitches with a 141kmh fastball, and last year's 2- to 35-year-old veteran found his way
Bunt scene with Ogawa in the batter's box. Ogawa hit a double in his first at-bat in the second inning. Photo capture = Yakult Swallows SNS
He lost his opponent's batters with fastballs and breaking balls in the early 140km/h range.

Ogawa `I wanted to help the team somehow. He threw one ball and one ball to the best of his ability. I hope that I and the team will regain confidence. I will not let my guard down from now on."

There was only one run crisis. After one out in the third inning, Sandro Fabian hit a double. With one out and runners on second, Tomoki Ishihara hit a fly ball to third base and Futamata hit a ground ball to shortstop. No Hiroshima batter reached third base.




In the first game of the season, he pitched 9 innings, 92 pitches, 2 hits, 4 pitches, and no runs. It is the first shutout in three years since May 2022 and the first shutout in the Central League this season.

There is another meaning. Ogawa pitched a shutout of 99 pitches against the Chunichi Dragons on May 15, 2021, with three hits and no four outs. It is the second career 'Maddox shutout after this game. 'Maddox shutout' means a shutout with less than 100 pitches. Named after Major League Baseball legend pitcher Greg Maddox. Ogawa recorded his 11th career shutout, including a no-hitter in 2020. He has a career record of 105 wins.

Maddox shut out 92 pitches with a 141kmh fastball, and last year's 2- to 35-year-old veteran found his way
Yakult, which swept the opening three consecutive games against Yomiuri, posted its first win of the season against Hiroshima on the 2nd. It was even more thrilling because it was a walk-off victory in the bottom of the 10th inning. Photo capture = Yakult Swallows SNS
Yakult, with Ogawai's good pitching, won two consecutive games. After being swept by the Yomiuri Giants in the opening three consecutive games, he created an opportunity to rebound in the atmosphere.

Even without a fastball, there is a way.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.