Tatsuya Imai pitcher will use the posting system to transfer from Saitama Seibu Lions to MLB's Houston Astros. He recorded a total of 58 wins in NPB and served as the opening pitcher for the second year in a row. Before starting a new challenge, I would like to look back on my performance so far.

pitcher Imai joined Saitama Seibu Lions from Sakushin Gakuin High School in the first place in the 2016 draft. In his first year, he did not pitch in the first team, but Eastern League 7 appearances, 1 win, 0 loss, ERA 2.35 record. He showed a glimpse of talent with 21 strike out compared to 15.1 innings pitched.

His first professional appearance and first start was on June 13, 2018, in his second year, against the Tokyo Yakult held at his home base. In the first inning, Takahiro Araki (at the time) suddenly took his first professional struck out, and in the second inning, he got off to a good start with a three-way retirement. In the 3rd inning, a teammate's defense mistake was entangled in a series of hits and allowed the first run, but after the 4th inning, he was unable to step home with a persistent pitch. In the 6th inning, 112 pitches 5 hit 6 strike out 2 Walk 1 runs (earned runs 0), and with the support of his teammates' batting line, he scored his first professional win in his debut.

In 2019, the era changed from Heisei to Reiwa. It was pitcher Imai, in his third year as a pro, who recorded the "first shutout game win of the Reiwa era." On May 5th, he held the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles batting lineup to just three hit for his first complete game and shutout game win. He threw 130 pitches in nine innings, strike out five Walk four.

pitcher Imai has continued to have a good chemistry with the Inuwashi batting lineup since then, winning 13 games in a row against Tohoku Rakuten Eagles from 2021 to 2024. His overall record is also a big win with 20 wins and 9 losses.

Won the most struck out pitcher awards with 187 strike out in 2024. The match where Imai pitcher scored the most struck out in a single game was against Yokohama DeNA on June 17, 2025.

If the first hitter is finished with struck out, it will be a four-way strike out from the second inning. The pace did not slow down in the middle of the game, and from the 5th to the 7th inning, they scored 6 consecutive struck out. And in the bottom of the ninth inning with a three-run lead, the three-run struck out closed in a row. The number of struck out stolen is "17", breaking the club record held by Daisuke Matsuzaka. In addition, hit 2 and no four Hit by Pitch overwhelming. He played a pitcher match with the opponent's starter Bauer pitcher.

How did Tatsuya Imai vs. Yamamoto Yoshinobu play in Pacific League?

By the way, the Astros, who became pitcher Imai's transfer destination, are a team in the American League West. The Los Angeles Angels, a team in the same A-League West Division, belongs to Yusei Kikuchi pitcher. In The Lions, both were teammates for only one season pitcher. The Lions A must-see throwing match for fans may be realized on the MLB stage. In addition, the Boston Red Sox in the AL East Division have Masataka Yoshida.

And above all, I am looking forward to playing against the Los Angeles Dodgers, to which Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitcher, and Roki Sasaki belong, pitcher. There are three games between the Astros and Dodgers in the 2026 regular season in May.

From here, I would like to look back on the pitching match between Imai pitcher and Yamamoto pitcher in Pacific League. They faced each other in seven matches from 2019 to 2023, with two wins for pitcher Imai and five wins for pitcher Yamamoto.

On May 5, 2021, pitcher Imai won the white star. Saitama Seibu Lions batting line took the lead from the first inning from Yamamoto pitcher, and extended the lead with 10 hit and 5 runs in 6.1 innings. Imai pitcher, who received support, went 7.2 innings hit 4 Walk 5 strike out 2 runs in the pitch to tighten the key points. He threw and won against pitcher Yamamoto.

On August 26, 2022, both pitcher got off to a 3-inning runs start. In the 4th inning, Saitama Seibu Lions scored the first run from Yamamoto pitcher, but Masataka Yoshida allowed a comeback with a timely triple behind it. Still, when Saitama Seibu Lions caught up with 2-2 in the 7th inning, Imai pitcher also scored closer with a persistent pitch. As a result, he threw 144 pitches in 9 innings, 4 hit 6 Walk 10 strike out 2 runs. The team won the extra inning in the 10th inning, and Imai pitcher, who was rewarded for his hard throwing, got a white star.

Imai has evolved into The Lions' ace pitcher with his fighting spirit, challenging batters and racking up a mountain of struck out. With the expectations of many fans on his shoulders, he will no doubt be showing off his pitcher powerful pitch in the new season.

Text by Ayako Kikuchi