◇ Hokkaido Nippon-Ham vs Saitama Seibu Lions 18th Round (11th, ES CON FIELD)

Saitama Seibu Lions 's Kaima Taira pitcher delivered a powerful fastball that kept the center right-handed hitter from working. They outpitched the opposing starter Hiromi Ito pitcher, earning their eighth win of the season.

He was mound starting pitcher after six days since his previous appearance, having lose pitcher in 5 runs 3 innings. In the first inning, he gave Hit by Pitch to leadoff and faced a 1-out, runner-on-second crisis, but then Chusei Mannami and Reyes advanced fastball to get two batters struck out in a row. From the second inning onward, he displayed outstanding pitch. Using his fastball top speed of 159 km/h as his weapon, he was hit pitch through five innings and kept opponents at bay.

In the bottom of the sixth, Taira pitcher gave up hit for the first time. With one out and runners on second, he carried runner in scoring position, but his tenacious pitch kept the scorers from hitting home. He closed out the bottom of the seventh with no runs, pitching 106 pitches, hit 2 , 3 walks, 5 Hit by Pitch strike out, and no runs in the seventh inning. He called for the first run in the top of the eighth, bringing them within two inning of reaching the required innings pitched.

◇ Comment from pitcher Taira
"The match started with a Hit by Pitch to the leading hitter in the first inning, but after that, I focused on pitch and was able to closer from the runs, which was great. I think I can take a bit more struck out in that context, so I want to keep working on improving my pitch and challenge it next time."

Text by Ao Yokoyama