It is his 17th strikeout with his 123rd fastball of 157km, which is sure to work in ML. Cy Young Award winner Bauer is also a right-hander ace who raved, and a new record beyond Matsuzaka (Japanese baseball by Min Chang-ki)

Jun 18, 2025

Seibu right-hander Imai earned his first shutout of the season against Yokohama on the 17th. He recorded 17 strikeouts, breaking the record for Seibu pitchers in one game beyond Matsuzaka. Photo capture = Seibu Lions SNS

Seibu won 3-0 against Yokohama on the 17th and won three consecutive games. Seibu, who came in last year's last, is aiming to win this season. Photo capture = Seibu Lions SNS

Seibu ace Imai started a practice game against Doosan in February and pitched three innings of six strikeouts and no runs. In February, he threw a fastball up to 156 kilometers per hour. Reporter Park Jae-man

Seibu Lions right-hander Tatsuya Imai (27) will not forget the away game against the Yokohama BayStars on the 17th for a long time. He made his 12th start this season and struck out 14 without four pitches until the eighth inning. He gave up only two hits with 109 pitches and blocked them with no runs. Imai was impossible for Yokohama hitters.

In the bottom of the ninth inning with a 3-0 lead, he continued his strong pitching. He struck out Masayuki Itohara, No. 8 pinch hitter, Tatsuo Evina, No. 9 pinch hitter, and Koki Kajiwara, No. 1 in a row. The last ball of the 123rd pitch to the last batter, Kajiwara, hit '157 km/h'. a 3-0 shutout. He completed his sixth victory of the season with a perfect pitch.

The ace rewrote the history of the Seibu club. Daisuke Matsuzaka's original 'monster'17 strikeouts' exceeded his 2004 record of 16 strikeouts. More than 30,000 Yokohama fans who filled the stands at Bay Stadium were also forced to pay tribute to Imai's hard-fought pitching.

The batting line gave strength to his right shoulder. In the top of the ninth inning with a 1-0 lead, Seibu's batters drove in four hits, including two doubles, to score two runs. Imai added two runs in the top of the ninth inning (the bottom of the ninth) to give it his all again," he said, thanking the batters. He is pleased. I've got a lot to do today."

He started with a strikeout and finished with a strikeout. In the bottom of the first inning, he struck out the leadoff hitter Kajiwara with a swing and miss. He pulled the bat with a fastball 153 kilometers per hour at the ball count of 1B2S. He then grounded out to second base to second baseman Ryoki Watarai and handled third Keita Sano with a fly ball to right field. He handled three batters with a mistake in the first inning with eight pitches.

Imai struck out six consecutive batters in five to seven innings. He struck out three outs in the 3, 6, and 9th innings. 2nd base to right field

Imai, who started against APBC Korea in 2023. He gave up two runs in four innings. Sports Chosun DB

After giving up a hit, he handled 15 consecutive hitters. Yokohama No. 4 Maki hit all two hits his team recorded. He went out as the leadoff hitter in the second inning and hit a left-handed hit.

Imai is a pitcher watched by Major League scouts. Many baseball experts predict that Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LA Dodgers) will succeed 'Super Ace'. He won 10 games in a row for two consecutive years from 2023 to 2024, and maintained a two-point ERA. He played 173 ⅓ innings and marked 187 strikeouts last year. He ranked No. 1 in strikeouts for the first time in his eighth year of joining the team.

It's better this year than last year. He pitched 92 innings in 12 games. 6-2 with a 1.17-104 ERA. The hit rate is 0.150 and the WHIP is 0.75. As of the 17th, he is tied for first in multiple wins and first in ERA, strikeout and pitching innings.

Yokohama starter Trevor Bauer, the Cy Young Award winner, also paid tribute to his opponent's stellar pitching. In a postgame interview, he gave a thumbs-up saying, `I'm sure Imai is a pitcher who works in the major leagues.' Bauer pitched one run until the eighth inning, then allowed two runs in the ninth inning. He became a losing pitcher with 10 strikeouts and three runs in eight ⅓ innings.

Seibu won three consecutive games thanks to ace pitching. It continued its upward trend by winning six games in the last seven games. Last year's last place aims to win this year.

Imai is no stranger to Korean baseball fans. He pitched in a practice game against the Doosan Bears on February 26 during the spring camp and had an out count of 9

Roh Si-hwan hit a two-run timely hit against Imai in the third inning of the 2023 APBC Japan and the final. Reporter Park Jae-man

He struck out six of them. Starting with the leadoff hitter in the first inning, he had four strikeouts in a row. At the end of February, the company introduced a fastball with a speed of 156 kilometers per hour.

There is another connection with Korea. Imai started in the 2023 APBC (Asian Professional Baseball Championship) final against South Korea. He allowed two runs (one earned) in four innings. Noh Si-hwan hit the first pitch thrown by Imai in the third inning with one out and runners on the first and second bases to make it a two-run timely hit.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.