Although he threw a fast ball that reached 157 km per hour, he was still unable to escape from the shabby reality.
Shintaro Fujinami (29), a Japanese major leaguer who has been nicknamed “monster pitcher” since high school, finally won his first major league debut.
On the 13th (Korean time), Fujinami took the mound as a relief pitcher in a home game against the Texas Rangers in the 2023 Major League Baseball held at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California, USA.
Oakland gave up two runs on defense in the top of the 10th inning and put Fujinami on the mound with a 5-7 lead. Fujinami joined the starting rotation from the start, but has been sluggish and is currently playing in the bullpen.
Fujinami, who came to the mound as a chaser, faced Robbie Grossman and got off to a good start, striking out with a 96-mile (154 km) four-seam fastball thrown on the 4th ball count 1B 2S. Fujinami, who was driven to the bases loaded crisis by walking Nate Rowe, was able to finish the inning by catching Josh Young with an 87 mph (143 km) cutter to fly out to right field. Fujinami’s highest speed on this day was 97.5 miles (157 km).
⅔ innings, 1 walk, no run. Then a lucky victory followed. Oakland won 9-7 in the bottom of the 10th inning with Brent Rooker’s two-run four to end left midfield. The winning pitcher was Fujinami. Fujinami earned his first major league debut win after such hard work.안전놀이터
However, now is not the time for Fujinami to be intoxicated with the joy of his first victory in his major league debut. Fujinami is still showing a serious level with an average ERA of 12.17 for the season. He is also a pitcher who has his first win in his major league debut, but has already lost four. There is still a long way to go. Oakland also brought a come-from-behind victory on this day, but it still has the lowest win rate among 30 major league clubs with 9 wins and 31 losses. Can Fujinami and Auckland prepare a turning point with their final victory?
Fujinami, who played for the Nippon Professional Baseball Hanshin Tigers until last year, signed a contract with Auckland through the posting system after the season. The content of the contract was 3.25 million dollars (approximately 4.4 billion won) for one year.