Monster Sasaki takes the lead…SoftBank’s 12th straight loss in 54 years is a nightmare
They lost again.
The SoftBank Hawks, seeking their first championship in three years, have lost 12 straight games. Even their best reliever collapsed in a second straight shutout loss.
On April 24 against the Chiba Lotte Marines at Chiba Marine Stadium. SoftBank, which has lost 11 straight games, was down 1-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning. Three outs were enough to end the nightmare losing streak.
Closer Roberto Osuna took the mound. The former major league saves leader was acquired last winter for 650 million yen.
But Osuna couldn’t keep his team in the game. With two outs and one on, pinch-hitter Katsuya Kakenaka hit a high fastball (152 kilometers per hour) from Osuna for a two-run homer to right field. It was the second nightmare in a row. In the previous game, I gave up the game-winning hit in the bottom of the 10th inning of extra innings and shook my head.
The losing streak lengthened and the wounds deepened. This is the first 12-game losing streak in 54 years since the Nankai Hawks lost 15 in a row in 1969. But that included a draw. It was the first time in the franchise’s history that they lost all 12 games.
Even SoftBank President Sadaharu Oh visited the Chiba Marine Stadium to encourage the team. But SoftBank, stuck in a losing tunnel, couldn’t find a way out.
They opened the scoring in the top of the first inning 바카라사이트 against Chiba Lotte starter Roki Sasaki. With two outs, Naka, batting fourth.
Akira Mura singled to right field.
SoftBank manager Hiroshi Fujimoto made another change to the batting order from the previous day. He batted leadoff hitters Gensuke Kondo and Yuto Yanagita in the two and three spots, with Nakamura batting fourth. Yanagita went 0-for-4 with a walk and three strikeouts.
Starter Shuta Ishikawa pitched seven scoreless innings. Yuki Matsumoto, who came on in the eighth, also pitched a scoreless inning. Closer Osuna couldn’t get over the final hurdle after two outs in the ninth.
Chiba Lotte’s monster pitcher Roki Sasaki gave up one run in six innings. Despite being down 0-1, the team rallied for the win and avoided a loss.
SoftBank is scheduled to play a two-game series against the Orix Buffaloes starting on the 25th. For the second year in a row, Oryx starter Yoshinobuda Yamamoto has won four prizes and leads the team in wins this season with nine.
At the beginning of the month, the Oryx Buffaloes were tied for the lead in the standings, with eight games separating them. They are in third place, five games behind second-place Chiba Lotte.