The atmosphere changed dramatically as the World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team pitcher returned.
Hiroya Miyagi (22), left-handed pitcher of the Orix Buffaloes, who contributed to the WBC championship, won his first match. He recorded one hit and no run in six innings against the Nippon Ham Fighters held at Kyocera Dome in Osaka on the 7th. He struck out 7 with 93 pitches and gave up 1 walk. He hit the Nippon Ham batting line with a close-to-perfect pitch.
Miyagi, who handled the first inning with a triple hitter, 온라인바카라continued the game smoothly until the fifth inning. After one out in the 6th inning, a runner was sent out due to a defensive error in the infield. Following this, he got his first hit by opponent No. 2 Yuma Imagawa. 1 company 1st, 2nd base. For the first time that day, a runner reached second base.
Then, he lightly pressed the opponent’s center line. Last year, the Pacific League batting champion, No. 3 Matsumoto Go, caught a floating ball from second baseman. He struck out 4th Nomura Yuki on a swing. With a ball count of 1B2S, the right-handed hitter Nomura pulled out the bat with a slider that flowed on a low course.
Miyagi finished the mission with a 3-0 lead.
On the previous day (6th), Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the first starter, made his first mound against the Softbank Hawks. The Softbank lineup, which was on the way to the opening five consecutive wins, was blocked with two hits and no runs in six innings. Orix, who was in the middle of three consecutive losses, succeeded in escaping the losing streak with the help of Ace’s good pitching.
Four Orix pitchers were selected as Japan’s representative for the WBC. It was the most in a single team among 15 pitchers.
“One-two punch” Yamamoto and Miyagi, and relief pitcher Udagawa Yuki (25) were first on the roster. After the first round, Soichiro Yamazaki (25) joined the national team as a substitute for Ryoji Kuribayashi (Hiroshima).
Miyagi pitched well and Orix won 3-2. 2 wins in a row after 3 losses in a row.
Orix won the last game of the season last year and confirmed 1st place in the league. Softbank, which was running in first place, lost to Chiba Lotte Marines in the final game, and the first place changed. Orix, who won the league for two consecutive years, defeated the Yakult Swallows and even won the Japan Series. It was the first championship in 26 years since 1996 when Ichiro Suzuki was active.
There are changes this season. Masataka Yoshida (30, Boston), who played an active role as a key hitter until last year, left for the major leagues. This void was filled by recruiting FA (free agent) catcher Mori Tomoya (28), a former batting champion. Mori is an offensive catcher who ranked first in batting in 2019 when he was a member of the Seibu Lions.
Orix is aiming for a third consecutive league title this season. The strongest adversary is Softbank. Softbank, which has good financial power, has extensively strengthened its power. Up to 5 billion yen was invested to recruit free agent outfielder Kensuke Kondo (30). In addition, Roberto Osuna (28), a former major league save king, was brought in. This year’s estimated annual salary is 600 million yen.