The Hanshin Tigers, aiming to win the Japan Series for the first time in 38 years, were unable to maintain momentum even after holding on to Japan’s strongest ace.메이저사이트
Hanshin lost 0-8 to Orix Buffaloes in Game 2 of the Japan Series held at Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Osaka, Japan on the 29th.
In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Orix had a chance with 2 outs and 2nd base due to Taishi Hirooka’s hit and pitcher’s error, and took the lead with Masahiro Nishino’s 1 RBI hit. In the 4th inning, with 2 outs, Yuma Mune walked and Kotaro Kurebayashi had a single, giving the team a chance to reach 1st and 3rd bases with 2 outs, and Tomoya Noguchi, Hirooka, and Keita Nakagawa hit one RBI and timely hits in a row to get up to 4-0.
Orix, who had won, widened the lead to 7-0 in the 7th inning with a hit by Leandro Cedeño, a hit by Yuma Tongu, a walk by Kurebayashi, and 3 RBIs by Marwin Gonzalez. In the 8th inning, they took advantage of Hanshin’s mistake and added one more point. Hanshin failed to seize the opportunity and suffered a scoreless defeat.
For Orix, left-handed starting pitcher Hiroya Miyagi became the winning pitcher after pitching 6 innings, allowing 4 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, and no runs. The bullpen team consisting of Yuki Udagawa (1 inning, no runs), Yamazaki Soichiro (1 inning, no runs), and Kogita Atsuya (1 inning, no runs) did not allow any runs and achieved a scoreless victory. In the batting lineup, Keita Nakagawa, Tomoya Noguchi, and Taishi Hirooka contributed to the victory by hitting multiple hits.
Hanshin became the losing pitcher after starting pitcher Yuki Nishi gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, and 4 runs in 3⅔ innings. The Hanshin batting line was blocked by the Orix mound and only recorded 4 hits.
Hanshin, which had not won the Japan Series for 37 years since its first and last Japan Series win in 1985, won the Central League championship for the first time in 18 years this year, giving hope that it could break the ‘Curse of Kernel Sanders.’ In the first game, he defeated Japan’s best ace, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, by allowing 7 runs in 5⅔ innings, and achieved an 8-0 victory, further boosting his momentum. It was an even more meaningful victory for Hanshin, which is challenging for its first championship in 38 years, as it caught Yamamoto, who became the first player in Japanese professional baseball history to win four gold medals (multiple wins, earned run average, strikeouts, winning percentage) for three consecutive years.
However, Hanshin’s momentum was halted after just one game. Miyagi, who was selected as a member of the Japanese national team for the World Baseball Classic last March and played 22 games (146⅔ innings) this season with 10 wins, 4 losses, and an average ERA of 2.27, blocked the Hanshin batting line and fulfilled the role that ace Yamamoto could not.
Japanese media Daily Sports said, “Orix succeeded in exacting revenge with an 8-0 victory. Manager Satoshi Nakajima’s reorganization of the batting lineup was effective. “The pitchers, including Miyagi, avenged the loss in Game 1 by holding off the Hanshin lineup without allowing any runs.”
Coach Nakajima said, “I felt sorry for the players in yesterday’s game. “I think it’s fortunate that we can start again,” he said, emphasizing that it is meaningful to have a balance of 1 win and 1 loss. Miyagi, who led the victory that day, said, “I think I was able to pitch with my rhythm from the first inning. “He was able to concentrate and throw until the end even after putting out a runner,” he said of the game.
Hanshin and Orix, who have 1 win and 1 loss, will clash in Game 3 of the Japan Series held at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan on the 31st.