He pitched a no-hitter in his final start of the regular season.
Orix Buffaloes “monster pitcher” Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 25, has virtually clinched a fourth consecutive bullpen title. He started a home game against the Nippon Ham Fighters at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka on Feb. 2 and threw seven innings of three-hit ball. He earned his 16th win of the season in a 3-0 victory.
He leads the Pacific League in wins and is tied for first in both leagues. In the Central League, Yokohama BayStars left-hander Katsuki Azuma picked up his 16th win.
He faced 26 batters and threw 112 pitches, allowing two walks and striking out 11. The day before (Sept. 1), he told the Japanese media, “If I pitch well, I think I can reach eight or nine, and if I pitch well, I can reach 10,” but he struck out 11.
It was his second straight seven-inning shutout, dating back to Sept. 24 against the Seibu Lions. In five of his last six games, including a no-hitter, he has thrown 30 innings of scoreless relief.
Lowered his ERA from 1.26 to 1.21. He has 169 strikeouts and a 7-2 record. A four-way tie for the crown. Atsuki Taneichi of the Chiba Lotte Marines, who leads the league in wins, ERA, and winning percentage and is second in strikeouts (157), has been sidelined with an injury.
For the third straight year, he posted a sub-one ERA, 15+ wins, and 160+ strikeouts. The ERA was a career high.
Last season, he went 15-5 with a 1.68 ERA, 205 strikeouts, and a 7.05 winning percentage. Two years for the first time ever
Yamamoto leads the league in wins, ERA, strikeouts, and winning percentage. Photo Credit: Oryx Buffaloes Social Media
For the second year in a row, Yamamoto was named MVP and won the Sawamura Award.
Double-digit wins for three consecutive years is a first for the Oryx, and 14 years for Nippon Professional Baseball as a whole since Darvish Yu (then Nippon Ham) from 2007-2009.
In the top of the first inning, Nippon Ham’s Jusei Mannami hit a double to center field. On a 2B2S pitch, Mannami took a 158-mile-per-hour fastball outside off. The next pitch to center field is a perfect catch.
He struck out Ryohei Hosokawa at second on a grounder to first, Yuya Tamiya at third, and Yuya Genji at fourth in succession. Tamiya was hit by a fastball and Genji was hit by a forkball.
A walk and a hit put runners on second and third. He struck out Arismendi Alcantara in the ninth. Gave up his third hit of the game to No. 7 Yutaro Kiyomiya, who led off the fifth inning. Induced Yushi Shimizu #8 to fly out to center field and got Alcantara #9 to ground out to first base to end the inning. In the sixth and seventh innings, he struck out five of the six batters he faced.메이저사이트
The Oryx got on the board in the second inning when No. 7 Kotaro Kurebayashi doubled to put runners on first and third. Two outs in the third inning.
Yamamoto threw his second career no-hitter against Chiba Lotte on September 9. Yamamoto poses with her autographed ball. Photo credit: Oryx Buffaloes SN
He added a run with a pushing four-pitcher in the second inning.
Having already clinched their third consecutive league title, the Oryx are looking to win their second straight Japan Series title. In last year’s Japan Series, they came back from a 2-1 deficit to win four straight games against the Yakult Swallows.
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