Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Orix Buffaloes), one of the top active pitchers in Nippon Professional Baseball, has reached 10 wins for the second straight year, the fastest in the league.
Yamamoto took the mound for the Buffaloes in their home game against the Rakuten Golden Eagles at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan, on Monday and pitched seven innings of one-hit ball, striking out seven and walking none to earn the win. With the win, Yamamoto improved to 10-4 on the season, becoming the first pitcher in the league to reach double-digit wins.
Japanese media outlet Sportichi Annex said, “Yamamoto is the fastest pitcher in the league to reach 10 wins since last year. It is the first time in 51 years that an Orix pitcher has reached 10 wins in two consecutive years since Hisashi Yamada (Orix predecessor Hankyu) in 1971-1972. He is one step closer to becoming a legend.”
Yamamoto faced seven hits on the day, two in the first inning and one in the seventh.
With one out in the first, Hiroto Kobukata hit an infield single to load the bases, and with one out in the second, Hideto Asamura singled to left to put runners on first and second. He threw three forkballs in a row to the foreign hitter Franco, who swung and missed for three straight strikes. The final strikeout was a 148-kilometer fastball.
Two batters later, he gave up a single to Kinjiro Sumitani, but a grounder to the third baseman ended the inning. The third and fourth innings were consecutive strikeouts. He added three more strikeouts. Allowed a leadoff single to Sumitani Tadasa in the fifth, but retired the next two batters on a fly ball and a grounder to end the inning.
He gave up a leadoff double to Kobutaka in the sixth. After getting a strikeout, he gave up a single to Asamura to put runners on first and third with no outs. In the nick of time, he got Franco to ground out to third base to preserve the no-hitter. After getting two strikes on a forkball, he followed it up with a five-pitch curveball (131 mph). He gave up a single in the top of the seventh, but retired the side in order.
The Oryx offense backed up Yamamoto with a six-run sixth inning, hitting two home runs and four doubles. The Oryx went on to win 6-2.
“I was able to throw well from the start of the game, and they scored a lot of runs, so I was able to ride that flow and throw well at a good tempo to keep the lead,” Yamamoto said after the game.
“I think it’s a testament to the fight of the whole team, and I’m very happy that the team is in a good position (first place),” he said of his 10th win of the season. “I’m going to try to improve my form a little bit more and try to win it all in August,” he added.온라인카지노
Along with the win, Yamamoto lowered his ERA to 1.67. He is first in wins and first in ERA. He is second in strikeouts with 114, behind only Roki Sasaki (Chiba Lotte, 130). Loki is expected to move into first place in strikeouts after two or three starts due to a three-month absence with an adductor muscle injury.