Endless falls, where is the bottom, Yakult, who scored 15 points in 10 games, and when will the monster hitter return

May 31, 2025

Endless falls, where is the bottom, Yakult, who scored 15 points in 10 games, and when will the monster hitter return
Yakur main gun Murakami played only one game due to injury this season. Yakult, which is without its main batters such as Murakami, has scored less than two points in the last 10 consecutive games. Photo capture = Yakult Swallows SNS



Endless falls, where is the bottom, Yakult, who scored 15 points in 10 games, and when will the monster hitter return
Yakurt went into recession after winning its second straight Central League title in 2021-2022. He succeeded in eliminating the last place with difficulty for two consecutive years from 2023 to 2024, but he has not been able to get out of the bottom this year. Photo capture = Yakult Swallows SNS
Yakult Swallows rode a rollercoaster ride after coach Shingo Takatsu took the helm in 2020. In the first year, he bottomed out in the bottom of the Central League and rebounded fiercely. The team with a winning rate of 0.373 (41 wins, 10 draws and 69 losses) in 2020, which was shortened due to COVID-19, reached the top of the league from 2021 to 2022. He lifted the Japan Series trophy by beating the Pacific League No. 1 Orix Buffaloes in 2021. He gave up the first game and won three consecutive games to win the game.

After losing two consecutive league games, he fell into a recession. From 2023 to 2024, he ranked fifth among the six Central League teams for the second consecutive year. He is in fifth place, which is almost the last place. For the second consecutive year, he avoided the lowest place ahead of the winning rate without a ride to the Chunichi Dragons. Ahead of Chunichi's win rate of 0.001 in 2023 and 0.002 in 2024.

In 2025, when Chunichi switched to Katsuki Inoue, Takas' Yakult is falling endlessly. As of May 30, he had 14 wins, two draws and 29 losses, with a winning rate of 0.326. He is the last among the 12 teams in both leagues.




The difference is '5 games' with Chunichi, the fifth-ranked team in the league. Two months after the opening, the gap with Yokohama BayStars and Hiroshima Carp, tied for third, widened to '9 games.

He lost 17 of his 23 games in May. If we go with the current flow, we can do up to '92 loss'. Since 2017 (45 wins, 2 draws and 96 losses), he has lost more than 90 games this season for the first time in eight years.

The match against Yokohama was held at Yokohama Stadium on the 30th. He gave up the lead and was dragged away. Starting pitcher Daichi Yamano allowed five runs in five innings and passed the mound. He collapsed after seven hits, including two home runs, in the second and fourth innings. Four of the seven hits were long balls.




Yamano caused the crisis in the third inning due to a bad pitch error. It's actually self-destruction.

Endless falls, where is the bottom, Yakult, who scored 15 points in 10 games, and when will the monster hitter return
Yakult is the last among the 12 teams in the Japanese professional baseball league as of the 30th. The central hitters' string injuries are painful. Photo capture = Yakult Swallows SNS
He hit two doubles in the fifth inning and followed one run. It ended with one run in the ninth inning with two outs and a full base chance, trailing 1-6. He lost 2-6 and lost for the third time in a row.

In the match against Chunichi held the previous day (28th), they lost 0-6. Starter Yasuhiro Ogawa allowed six runs until the fifth inning. He collapsed in the 1st or 3rd inning due to intensive hits. He had 11 hits through the third inning. The batters also failed to gain strength. He threw a chance at the first and second bases with no outs in the seventh inning with consecutive hits.




Even if it is a 'go-go-taser', the poor batting lineup is serious. Since the match against Yokohama on the 18th, he has scored two or less points in 10 consecutive games. Japanese media said it was the first humiliation in 55 years since 1970. Yakult has scored '15' in his last 10 games. He was defeated twice. He had one win, one draw and eight losses during this period.

The absence of the main hitters is painful.

'Jupo'Munetaka Murakami (25) played in just one game. After injury and rehabilitation, he made his first appearance against the Hanshin Tigers on April 17 and was replaced by an injury during the game. The next day, the first team registration was canceled. Murakami, who is planning to challenge for the Major League, is the No. 4 hitter who represents the Japanese professional baseball league. He is the home run-run champion last year. Yakult looks forward to his return.

Hideki Nagaoka (24), who ranked first in hits (163 times) last year, was also out of the team due to injury. Records stopped after the match against Chunichi on April 26. 베테랑 시오미
Endless falls, where is the bottom, Yakult, who scored 15 points in 10 games, and when will the monster hitter return
Yakurt has been in a slump in both its pitching and hitting this season. Right-hander Ogawa allowed six runs in five innings against Chunichi on the 29th. In this match, Yakult suffered a 0-6 defeat. Photo capture = Yakult Swallows SNS
Yasudaka (33) underwent surgery and is rehabilitating from an injury during an exhibition game.

I can't see the end of the tunnel. Like the Kiwoom Heroes in the KBO League.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.