He struck out three batters in the bottom of the 8th inning and took the mound in the bottom of the 9th. He struck out two batters and then gave up a second walk with 2 out. Ball count 1B2S with 2 outs and 1st base. He threw a forkball that fell to the outside low course and caught the last batter with a grounder to second base.
No hit, no run.
He reaffirmed that he is the incomparable best pitcher in Japanese professional baseball.안전놀이터
Orix Buffaloes’ ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto (25) achieved his second no-hit no-run. He started against the Chiba Lotte Marines at Chiba Marine Stadium on the 9th and recorded no hits and no runs in 9 innings. He faced 29 batters and threw 102 pitches through the 9th inning, giving up only 2 walks.
On June 18 last year, he recorded his first no-hit no-run against the Seibu Lions, and achieved another milestone in one year and three months. Yamamoto is the third player in Japanese professional baseball to throw no hits and no runs for two consecutive seasons, and it has been 82 years since he did so.
This is Softbank Hawks right-hander Shota Ishikawa (32)’s second no-hitter this year, following 4 walks, no hits, and no runs in 9 innings at Seiban on August 18. Also, the 100th no in total in Japanese professional baseball.
There is another record that will make your mouth drop. Starting with the Rakuten Eagles match on August 1st, he recorded an ERA of ‘0’ in 6 games. He pitched 42 innings, allowing 3 runs, all non-earned runs. He finished five of six games without giving up a run.
Yamamoto said in a post-game interview, “I was nervous until the last player, but now I feel relieved. When I got on the mound in the bottom of the 9th inning, there were cheers and I threw happily.”
Yamamoto plans to advance to the major leagues through the posting system after the end of this season. Last March, he represented Japan at the WBC (World Baseball Classic) and showed his international competitiveness.
Every time he takes the mound, major league scouts gather, and more than 20 officials from 12 teams, including New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, watched the game that day. Yamamoto said, “I’m glad that you’re paying attention and I’m glad that we got good results.”
He was good at pitching and managed the number of pitches well.
Yamamoto posing with a no-hit, no-run sign. On this day, officials from 12 major league teams, including New York Yankees general manager Cashman, watched Yamamoto’s no-hitter and no-run game. Photo source = Orix Buffaloes SN
From the 1st to the 5th inning, it was a three-way strike for 5 consecutive innings. He set up three batters in the first inning on seven pitches and three batters in the second inning on eight pitches. There were only 47 pitches until the 5th inning.
He went perfect until the 5th inning, then walked the leadoff batter in the bottom of the 6th. A straight walk was allowed to Chiba Lotte No. 7 Hisanori Yasuda. Four balls one after another went slightly past the outer strike zone. Afterwards, until the bottom of the 9th inning with 2 outs, 11 batters were hit in a row. The 97-101 fastballs he threw one after another against Yutai Fujioka with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning reached 154-156 km/h.
While he was pitching well, the batting line also kept pace. In the top of the 4th inning, Yutaro Sugimoto hit a 3-run home run to left-center to relieve Yamamoto’s shoulders. In the top of the 8th inning, No. 4 Tomoya Mori hit a sacrifice hit with one out and runners on second and third base, adding one run.
In 20 games, 14 wins, 5 losses, ERA 1.26, 145 strikeouts, 0.737 winning percentage. Multiple wins, ERA, strikeouts, winning percentage
They are all ranked first in the Pacific League. Last year, for the first time in history, he won four gold medals for two consecutive years, and he is on the verge of winning four gold medals for the third consecutive year.