Hitters with 72km-maximum 143km fastball, eight wins without losing 10 games against Hiroshima in two years, coach Humil Arai "It's because I'm not good enough."""
Jul 04, 2024
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Hanshin, which fell to fourth place after losing to Yakult Swallows on the 30th, won two consecutive games against the No. 1 Central League team. In the previous day's game (on the 2nd), he scored three points in the 10th inning of extra time and scored a 3-0 victory. Strong pitchers blocked Hiroshima's batters with two games, eight hits and one run.
It was a game that drew more attention because the opponent team was Hiroshima, the venue was Mazda Stadium, and the pitcher was Otake.
Prior to the game, Otake had seven wins and an ERA of 0.60 in nine games against Hiroshima without losing.He was in the middle of a five-game series at Mazda Stadium. To Hiroshima hitters, Otake was like 'The Grim Reaper'.
'Hiroshima Killer' was definitely different. In the fifth inning, he pitched perfectly without sending out a single runner until two outs. The defensive error was regrettable after two outs in the fifth inning. He led No. 6 Kikuchi Ryosuke to a ground ball to the third base, but a throwing error occurred and the first runner went out. Then, he got a triple from No. 7 Masaya Yano. He gave up one run on his first hit following an error. Yano hit a 132km/h cut fastball well outside off the ball count 1B.
After two outs in the seventh inning, Tomoki Ishihara got his second hit. A 124km/h changeup led to a hit. The final innings ended blandly. He came down the mound after holding first baseman Ishihara in check.
He made fun of Hiroshima's batters with his sophisticated control and control of the ball.
In the sixth inning, he threw a fastball 79 kilometers per hour outside against No. 1 Akiyama and grounded out to second base. In the seventh inning, he grounded out to second base with a course slider that was 86 kilometers per hour high.
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Otake recorded a maximum speed of 143 kilometers per hour and a minimum speed of 72 kilometers. The average fastball speed remained in the late 130km range.
Since last year, he has won eight games in 10 games against Hiroshima and six in six games at Mazda Stadium. It is a humiliating result for Hiroshima batters.
Sato Teruaki, who played 5th-3rd base, contributed to the team's victory by hitting a one-run home run in the second and sixth innings. Sato made a defense error in the bottom of the fifth inning and hit a winning home run right in the top of the sixth inning. He covered up his fatal defense mistake with a home run.
Hiroshima, which was blocked by three hits, lost three consecutive games. The gap between Hanshin, who rose to second place, has narrowed to two games. Manager Takahiro Arai blamed himself "It's all because I'm not good enough to be beaten by the same pitcher like this."
Otake's professional life has changed significantly in the winter of 2022. He joined the Softbank Hawks as a nurturing player in 2018, played five years, and moved to Hanshin at the end of 2022. The team was moved through the active draft.
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huelva@sportschosun.com
