Pacific League Nippon-Ham 0-2 Seibu (7th, ES CON FIELD)
Seibu ‘s Imai was extremely careful. With neither team scoring in the fourth inning, the bases bases loaded no outs. He faced Yazawa at bat. “I didn’t want it to hit into outfield,” he said. He grounded out to first base for a double double play with a low outside change-up. “He’s fast, so (double play) was the last thing I expected. I think Nevin’s good defense helped me out.” Then, against Umebayashi, he struck out out swinging with a 155 km/h fastball. Even the usually cool ace couldn’t help but smile.
His true form has returned. He pitched seven innings of one hit innings at a maximum speed of 157 km/h, his fifth double-digit total of the season. 11 strike out innings of nothing runs, he grabbed his seventh win since June 17 against DeNA (Yokohama). He has been unbeaten in three starts at ESCON this season and has pitched 22 innings runs without a loss. He was the best of the year. It wasn’t that I was getting hit or not getting hit, it was that I wasn’t getting a good feeling when I was pitching, and that had been going on for a long time. Today, I was finally able to correct it. Physically, of course, the muscular strength and conditions were different from last year. He has been searching for ways to use his body accordingly, and he is beginning to see the light.
Every year, major league teams focus on inspecting Japanese baseball in August after the trade deadline. On this day, journalist J. Morosi, known for his perseverance, posted on X, “Seibu ‘s right-hander, Tatsuya Imai, is one of their top priorities,” and he has been recognized as a “target” from across the ocean. The ace is once again in unrivaled form. (Oonaka Ayami)
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