◆2025 Persol Climax Series first baseman First Stage Game 1 Nippon-Ham 2-0 Orix (11th, Escon F)
The first stage (S) of the "2025 PERSOL Climax Series Pa" began on the 11th. Nippon-Ham Orix The first stage of the 2025 PERSOL Climax Series (S) started on November 11. Hiromi Ito pitcher (28) contributed to win the team's bid to advance through the stage with a strong pitching performance, striking out 4 hit unanswered runs and 9 struck out in 7 innings. The ace, who won the Pacific League most wins and most strike out wins with 14 wins this season, met the expectations of manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo, 53, who used him in the CS opener pitcher.
As Ito stood on the stage at his home stadium, cheers like an earthquake swelled, he muttered to himself before the hero interview, which was passed on to him by Mannami and Gunji. "It's going to be difficult after these two." The particularly loud cheers directed at the ace afterwards showed who was worthy of being the grand finale.
He tried closer his excitement, kept a poker face, and swung his arm, saying, "I'll just stay calm." He realized that his fastballs weren't moving fast enough early on, so he threw a lot cutter because he was calm. His fastballs were close to 150 km/h, but they curved slightly around home plate, which was especially useful for striking out right-handed hitter.
The ace was thinking about the bitter experience of last season's CS. He was conserved in the first set, but started in the first game of the final set, but was caught off guard by the Softbank batting line and knocked out midway through the sixth inning, giving up four runs. It was an unforgettable and frustrating result, and he said with a wry smile, "I feel like I paid a heavy price for that." However, he learned the lesson of staying calm in the biggest games, and put it to good use in the CS a year later.
He was also helped by the words of his teammates. In the fifth inning, Walk, the first batter. Gunji, a third baseman baseman in the same year, approached him and asked, "Are you tired yet?" This comment flipped a switch in him, and even after throwing 115 pitches in the seventh inning, he showed no signs of running out of stamina.
Manager Shinjo revealed after the game that he had made a relief pitcher at Miyanishi's instruction, saying, "I wondered what would happen in the first inning, but we're a good team that covers for our teammates' mistakes. He held on well," praising Ito for overcoming the pinch that came in the first inning after Nomura's error. The two-time ace pitcher won the first game with shutout game. This year's CS was a solid win.
(Shunsuke Ami)
Related News
・ [Scoreboard] Nippon-Ham vs. Orix
・ [Pacific League CS] Orix, on the brink of defeat, puts their ace in mound with Hiroya Miyagi, "with the determination to win" in the first game.
・ [Pacific League CS] Orix is in danger of elimination after being shutout. Manager Mamoru Kishida says, "I thought they might come at me all at once..." but failed to attack strongly in the 5th inning.
・ [Pacific League CS] Orix Shumpeita Yamashita up 6 hit 2 runs in 6 innings, "I'm just frustrated." First postseason appearance and first start, recorded a fastest speed of 158 km/h, but suffered his first loss
・ [Pacific League CS] Orix is on the brink of overthrowing the underdog... They've been silent in scoring positions repeatedly, losing the first baseman stage twice in the past.
