Yoshinobu Yamamoto (25, Orix Buffaloes), the best pitcher in Japanese professional baseball, showed off his prowess in 9 innings with 8 strikeouts and no hitters in front of New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. It was his second no-hitter in his debut, his second consecutive season, and third all-time.
Yamamoto started on the mound in the 2023 Japan Professional Baseball away game against the Chiba Lotte Marines held at Jojo Marine Stadium in Chiba, Japan on the 9th, and led Orix to a 4-0 victory with a no-hitter pitched in 9 innings with 1 walk, 1 out, 8 strikeouts, and no runs.
On this day’s game, Yankees general manager Cashman made a ‘gut decision’ to see Yamamoto. Yamamoto, who will be competing in the major leagues after finishing this season, is already receiving interest from several American clubs, and General Manager Cashman personally flew to Japan.
Yamamoto made a real impression in front of Director Cashman. Yamamoto, who was struck out with 7 balls in the first inning, pitched a perfect pitch with only 47 balls until the 5th inning. A splitter that falls like a waterfall on a fastball in the 150 km range and a curve with a large drop caused a missed swing.
He walked leadoff pitcher Hisanori Yasuda in the 6th inning, breaking the perfect spell, but the no-hitter continued. Yamamoto, who took the mound in the 9th inning with 87 pitches, did well with two outs 토스카지노. His stamina did not drop at all, to the extent that the 94th ball of the game in the 9th inning went as far as 156 km.
After two outs in the ninth inning, Takashi Ogino was sent to first base with a ball that hit his body, but he guided Yudai Fujioka to a ground ball to second base and succeeded in a no-hitter. A 9-inning no-hitter game with a total of 102 pitches. Yamamoto, who pitched a no-hitter for two consecutive years following the Seibu Lions game on June 18 last year, left his mark as the third pitcher in Japanese professional baseball history. It has been 82 years since Eiji Sawamura in 1936-1937 and Tadashi Kameda in 1940-1941.
Yamamoto, a right-handed pitcher who throws fastballs with a maximum speed of 159 km and an average speed of 152 km despite his short height of 178 cm, is one of the best pitchers in Japan who uses a high-speed splitter and a slow curveball that can travel up to 150 km. From 2021 to 2022, he swept the Sawamura Award by ranking first in most wins, ERA, strikeouts, winning percentage, and shutouts for two consecutive years.
This year, as of today, he has 14 wins, 5 losses, and an average ERA of 1.26 in 20 games (143 innings), which means he has the most wins and ranks first in average ERA across both major leagues. Since August, he has been throwing more and more powerful balls with no runs in 42 consecutive innings in the last 6 games. As he is likely to win the Sawamura Award for the second time in three consecutive years, interest from major league clubs is increasing, and expectations for a huge contract are growing.
