◇Saitama Seibu vs Yokohama DeNA Open Match (23rd, Belluna Dome)

Saitama Seibu 's Mitsunari Takahashi pitcher threw 59 pitches in five innings hit 2 strike out 1 Hit by Pitch 4 1 runs.

Mitsu pitcher nari Takahashi, who was making his third start of the opening match, gave up a Hit by Pitch to Masashi Kuwahara in the first inning. Still, he finished off the next Hidego Maki with a struck out and then hit Daiki Mimori with a double play to get back to the runs. In the top of the second inning, he needed just seven pitches to fend off the opposing offense, and continued his fast-paced pitch with three strikeouts in the top of the third and fourth innings. In the top of the fifth, they gave up one run on an RBI single by Koki Kajiwara from third base with one out, but after that, Shinya Hasegawa defense allowed hitter to hit a grounder to right and no additional runs were scored.

Mitsunari Takahashi pitcher threw 13 inning in the opener, runs 1 and ERA 0.69. It was a good way to get some momentum back from last season, when he finished with zero wins in a season for the first time since entering the professional ranks.

◇Mitsunari Takahashi pitcher Comment
"We went into the mound with the expectation that we were going into the season (regular season), and we were able to pitch at a good tempo and strike ahead of us, which reminded us of how important it is to take advantage of the count. I'm sure we're making good adjustments and we'll get off to a good start, so I'm hoping for the start of the season as soon as possible."

Written by Aoi Yokoyama

・ Match details/video
・ Mitsunari Takahashi Results/Video