◆SMBC Japan Series 2025 Game 1 Softbank 1-2 Hanshin Tigers (25th, Mizuho PayPay)
Just one more point, just a few centimeters away. With one out in the eighth inning, Softbank 's Kondo doble hit the wire mesh at the top of the left field wall. It didn't tie the game, and the only run was his own timely hit in the first inning. "We'll switch gears and see you tomorrow," said the cleanup hitter, who was returning for the first time since September 26th after recovering from a left flank injury, as he tried to contain his frustration at starting the game with a loss.
Their tenacious pitching rotation was unsuccessful. "We were behind, but we sent in three (win-win) players and went for it without thinking ahead," said manager Kokubo. Starting in the seventh inning, they sent in their win-win players, Fujii, Matsumoto Yutaka, and Sugiyama, and didn't allow any additional runs. They used all of their bench fielder except for Downs and Tanigawara, but in the ninth inning, with two outs and runners on first and second, they just couldn't get that one hit they needed.
There was also an accident. Nakamura, starting line-up was scheduled to start, injured his right hip and did not participate in the pre-match training. It was supposed to be the first time the best lineup was assembled since the start of the season, but the manager lamented, "In the end, we were not able to complete the team until the end."
The team will entrust the second game, which they cannot afford to lose, to Uesawa, not Moinelo. The left-handed ace, who pitched on the 20th in the sixth game of the final stage of the CS, with only four days between starts, is slow to recover from fatigue and will be moved to the third game. The challenges continue as they strive to become Japan's best team for the first time in five years. (Shimao Koichiro)
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