◆ Pacific League Softbank 1-0 Nippon-Ham (1st, Tokyo Dome)
He got a white star from his old team on his seventh try. Softbank He Kohei Arihara pitcher (32) became the 22nd pro baseball and 12th team win to do so. He was modestly pleased, saying, "I didn't mind, but I'm glad I did it." The question of his 0-3 record in his last six starts vs. Nippon-Ham had been asked so many times that it was biting: 1-0, his first shutout game of the season. In the final year of his contract, his third year with the team, he was finally freed from his spell.
He is actually Tokyo Dome man. Including his time with Nippon-Ham he has pitched in 10 games with 8 wins and 1 loss, ERA of 2.11. "It's easy to hit home run here. I imagined it would be a low grounder, but I think it just happened to lead to a strikeout," he said, carefully pitching low fork and recording his first double-digit strike out of 11 this season. Chairman Wang, who watched from behind the net, also looked back on the pitch well. He really threw a low fork. I think hitter were aiming for it, but they couldn't hit it. It was a thrilling game."
The event was held at Tokyo Dome as "Softbank Hawks 20th Anniversary Day," and many group employees came to the event. For the team, it was the last important three-game series against the league leader Nippon-Ham in the first half of the season. "That's what I'm most happy about," said Arihara, who was happy to have played the role of an ace in the first game, rather than his personal record. "It all comes down to Arihara. There are about seven hitter (in the starting lineup) who can hit long balls in a home run where home runs are likely to be hit. He was persistent in keeping the ball low and pitched well without losing concentration," said manager Kokubo, who also praised Arihara for his 107 pitches.
The team, which won its ninth interleague championship (including the highest winning percentage), lost a large number of key players, including Yanagida, from the start of the season, and for the first time in 32 years had zero players selected for the All-Star fan vote. However, before they knew it, they were halfway through the season with nine points, the highest this season, and two games behind the leader. With 71 games remaining, they are on track to win the league championship for the second time in a row. (Shimao Koichiro)
Related News
・ [Game Details] Softbank vs. Nippon-Ham
・ [Softbank] Takashi Sorimachi throws a great opening pitch at Softbank 's 20th anniversary celebrations
・ [Softbank] Kohei Arihara decides to conquer all 12 teams in front of owner Masayoshi Son at Tokyo Dome against his former team Nippon Ham Fighters
・ [All-Star Game] Softbank, Lotte, Rakuten, and Yakult not selected by fan vote
・ [All-Star Game] Fan vote: Rakuten for third consecutive year, Softbank not selected for first time in 32 years since 1993
