“I just couldn’t get any control.”Ĭenterfielder Shuhei Fukuda, who hit fifth in the Buffaloes’ lineup, also expressed shock over his helplessness at the plate, particularly against Sasaki’s fastball and forkball. “I swung the bat before (Sasaki) even threw the ball,” Kurebayashi said. It was considered an achievement because it ended Sasaki’s run of consecutive strikeouts at 13, breaking the NPB record of nine set 64 years ago. Kotaro Kurebayashi, a Buffaloes’ infielder who is also 20 and entered NPB at the same time as Sasaki, led off the sixth inning by flying out to centerfield. Yoshida said he tried to adjust for each at-bat, but it was in vain because Sasaki “pitched with such good control.” Sasaki fanned Yoshida three times on April 10. Orix designated hitter Masataka Yoshida struck out only 26 times last season, the fewest in NPB with a certain number of plate appearances, and just once this season. Much had been expected of Sasaki since he threw a 163 kph pitch when he was a senior at Ofunato High School in Iwate Prefecture in spring 2019.Īfter two rather uneventful seasons, Sasaki early in his third pro year showed a mastery that left a two-time PL batting champion nearly speechless. “I feel on top of the world,” the right-hander said after the game at Zozo Marine Stadium in Chiba. The youngest to achieve the feat, Sasaki also tied an NPB record with 19 strikeouts in Chiba’s 6-0 victory over the defending Pacific League champs. The source of their frustration was Roki Sasaki, the 20-year-old ace of the Chiba Lotte Marines, who pitched only the 16th perfect game in Nippon Professional Baseball history. Despite being frustrated and shocked, even the helpless hitters on the Orix Buffaloes could smile near the end of their ballgame in Chiba, realizing they had been part of something special.
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