Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Orix Buffaloes), the representative of Japanese professional baseball, failed to rank first in strikeouts as he only added 5 strikeouts. However, he succeeded in creating a club record for the first time in 67 years.
Yamamoto started on the 23rd 온라인바카라 (hereinafter Korean time) in the 2023 Japan Professional Baseball Seibu Lions away match held at the Vernadome in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, Japan, and pitched 98 pitches in 7 innings, 5 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, and no runs. did.
Yamamoto collapsed with 3 runs in 5 innings (visa) without help from the batting line and defense in the confrontation with the Softbank Hawks on the 16th, the previous appearance. Of course, the support of the other ships was not generous on this day either. However, Yamamoto showed a pitch that was close to perfection and kept the first place in most wins throughout the Pacific League-Central League.
Yamamoto made a clean start by tying Seibu’s top batting line with a three-way strike in the first inning. In the bottom of the 2nd, he started the inning with a hit by lead batter Takeya Nakamura, but ended the inning by tying off consecutive batters. And in the bottom of the 3rd inning, he overcame the crisis of conceding with two hits and continued pitching without a run.
Yamamoto started cruising by once again tying up the center batting line leading to Takeya Nakamura, David McKinnon, and Tonosaki shooter in the 4th inning, and blocking the lower batting line in the 5th inning, blocking Seibu’s batting line for two consecutive innings. As usual, Yamamoto went to the mound in the 6th inning and started the inning with a hit by the lead batter, but this time also no runs were allowed.
Yamamoto showed up in the bottom of the 7th inning with a 2-0 lead due to the number of pitches available. Then came the biggest crisis. Yamamoto was on the verge of conceding a run after a walk from lead batter McKinnon and a hit from follow-up hitter Tonosaki. And as he allowed a sacrifice bunt to Ryusei Sato, he got stuck on 2nd and 3rd base with 1 out. Here, Yamamoto’s true value was properly revealed.
After a 4-pitch game with pinch hitter Aito, Yamamoto let go of the strike zone and sighed as he narrowed down the strikeout with a 134km slider that fell low. Seibu once again employed a pinch hitter, and Yamamoto caught Kento Watanabe with a straight hit to third base on the first pitch, ending the inning and recording a quality start + (7 innings or less), then handed the baton to the bullpen. Orix won 3-0 on the day, and Yamamoto earned his 12th win.
Yamamoto had recorded 123 strikeouts for the season before the game, but the gap between Rocky Sasaki and Atsuki Taneichi (Chiba Lotte Marines, 130 above), who are tied for first place in the Pacific League, was only 7. However, as he was only able to add 5 strikeouts that day, the strikeout ranking was postponed to the next appearance. Still, he succeeded in defending the 1st place in ERA and most wins, including lowering his ERA from 1.50 to 1.42.
The pitcher’s triple crown was postponed until later, but Yamamoto made one club record by completing a scoreless pitch that day. Orix started with Softbank on the 17th, 3 consecutive matches against the Nippon Ham Fighters on the 18th and 20th, and Seibu on the 22nd and 23rd. And Orix lit up the Pacific League magic number (24 wins).
According to Japan’s ‘Nikkan Sports’, coach Satoshi Nakajima said after the game, “I threw it properly in the element. I wondered if the ball was really this good.” He gave a thumbs up to the ace’s pitch.