Shin Ace (Min Chang-ki's Japanese baseball) who played in the All-Star Game for the first time in his 8th year with an ERA of 0.39 in 6 games and a shutout of 1 to 0 in 9 innings
Jul 03, 2024
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Hanshin lost to Yakult Swallows 5-6 on June 30 and lost to Yakult for the second straight time in fourth place. He had one win, one draw and three losses in five games last week.
The match against Hiroshima on the 2nd, which was held during two consecutive losses, was held. It won 3-0 against the No. 1 team. It went up to third place in a day. At the top of the 10th inning, when the score was 0-0, he scored three points. With one out and one on the first base, Kairi Shimada hit a right-handed hit, and the opponent's fielder's throwing error came out and scored the first run. In the continued chances, No. 1 Koji Chikamoto and No. 2 Takumu Nakano hit back-to-back timely hits to add two more runs.
Until the victory or defeat was split, a tight pitching battle unfolded. Hiroshima starter Masato Morishita (27) pitched 125 pitches until the eighth inning. He gave up four hits and one walk and struck out nine. On June 25, he won 91 pitches against Yakult, followed by a near-perfect pitching in two consecutive games.
Hanshin right-hander Hiroto Saiki (26) faced Morishita's strong pitching. He blocked Hiroshima's batters without losing a point until the seventh inning. It didn't bring its ninth win of the season, but it built a bridge to a losing streak. In seven innings, 113 pitches, one hit, two walks, six strikeouts, and no run.
It shook twice. In the bottom of the second inning, the leadoff hitter No. 4 Gojono Kaito was sent out to third base. He caught No. 5 Sakamura Shogo with a foul fly to third baseman in a crisis made by his own bad pitches. He then pressed two consecutive hitters. Looking back on the situation after the game, he said "I thought I would give up one point, but it was a big hit to catch the next batter on a foul fly at third base."
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Tsubasa Aizawa, the leadoff hitter, got his first hit. He gave up the walk and got the first and second bases with two outs. He grounded out to third baseman Takashi Uetomo, and caught the last out count.
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It's been eight years since I joined the team.
He took off as an ace. On the day Saiki took the mound, Hanshin broke his losing streak six times. Coincidentally, when the team was losing consecutive games, he often took the mound and saved the team. That's the role of ace.
He won eight games last year, the most in his personal career, and won eight in the first half of this year. It is the most wins in the Central League. He lowered his ERA to 1.11 to rank second. It was closely followed by Hiroshima's Acera Daichi (0.80), at the top of the category.
Rewards followed after outstanding performances. As a result of the 2024 All-Star fan vote announced on the 2nd, he was selected as the starting pitcher for the Central League. It is his first All-Star Game in his eighth year as a professional. Asked how he would play in the All-Star Game, he said, `I'm going to throw a fastball," he said with a smile.
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Saiki has allowed two runs in 46 ⅔ innings in the past six games since May 26 against the Yomiuri Giants. During this period, he recorded 3-1 with a 0.39 ERA.
huelva@sportschosun.com
