Orix Buffaloes left-hander Hiroya Miyagi, 22, is the 2021 Pacific League Rookie of the Year. He joined the organization as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 Rookie Draft and set an elite course. In his first year full-time, he won 13 games (4 losses) in 2021, 11 games (8 losses) in 2022, and 10 games (4 losses) in 2023. This year, while representing Japan in the World Baseball Classic (WBC), he ranked fourth in wins, third in ERA (2.27), ninth in strikeouts (122), and second in WHIP (0.94). He helped the Orix win their third straight league title and advance to the Japan Series for the third straight year.
Along with Chiba Lotte Marines’ “monster pitcher” Roki Sasaki (22), Miyagi represents a generation of pitchers.
They are two of the best pitchers in Nippon Professional Baseball. He is the “No. 2 guy” on the team. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (25), the “super ace” who has won four pitching titles in three consecutive years. Yamamoto, a three-year senior, went 16-6 this season with a 1.21 ERA, 169 strikeouts, and a 0.727 winning percentage. That’s unparalleled.
But when you look at fall ball and postseason performance, it’s a different story. No. 2 starter Miyagi is better than Yamamoto. After starting Game 1 of the Japan Series for the third straight year, Yamamoto is winless in four games with two losses. Miyagi has two wins in the series.
Game 2 of the Japan Series against the Hanshin Tigers on Sept. 29 at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka. Miyagi pitched six innings of four-hit shutout ball in an 8-0 win. He faced 22 batters and threw 104 pitches, striking out five and walking one.
After suffering an 0-8 shutout in Game 1, in which Yamamoto started, the Oryx won by the same score just one day later. He got over the shock of the Game 1 loss.
The series is now 1-1. Miyagi was at the center of the comeback.
In the top of the fourth inning, Miyagi showed remarkable crisis management skills to keep the game scoreless despite facing three hits.
He walked leadoff hitter Takumu Nakano on an infield single. He then retired No. 3 Shota Morishita on a 6(shortstop)-4(second baseman)-3(first baseman) play.
Sue) He induced a walk.
Two batters later, he gave up back-to-back singles to Yusuke Oyama, No. 4, and Teruaki Sato, No. 5. Runners on first and second. He worked a full count against Sheldon Nooiji. He threw a forkball down the middle of the plate and turned it into a swinging strike. Miyagi roared with relief.
He chose the forkball, which he learned from Darvish Yu (San Diego Padres) during his WBC call-up in February, as the deciding pitch.
In a postgame interview, Oryx manager Satoshi Nakajima cited the play in the fourth inning as the game-winner.
Miyagi said, “I was upset that we lost the first game with Yamamoto on the mound. I was desperate to throw because we were going to lose again today.”
Miyagi was followed by Yuki Udagawa, Soichiro Yamasaki, and Atsuya Kogita, all of whom represented Japan at the WBC, who each pitched one inning of scoreless relief to complete the shutout.
Miyagi earned the win in Game 7 of last year’s Japan Series against the Yakult Swallows after tossing five scoreless innings. The Orix rallied from a 1-2 deficit to win four straight games. On April 21, he started Game 4 of the Climax Series Final Stage against the Chiba Lotte Marines and pitched six innings of four-hit ball to clinch a spot in the Japan Series.짱구카지노 주소
Three postseason games and 17 consecutive scoreless innings since last year
Miyagi said he changed his lifestyle to stay in top form. He said he usually goes to bed after 1 a.m., but now he gets nine hours of sleep.
Yamamoto, the ace of aces, has struggled in two games this postseason.
She gave up five runs on 10 hits in seven innings in Game 1 of the Final Stage against Chiba Lotte on April 18. This was not the same Yamamoto who was nearly perfect in each game.
He had a nightmare in Game 1 of the Japan Series against Hanshin on April 28. He gave up seven runs (seven earned) on 10 hits with two outs in the sixth inning. It was the first time since his professional debut in 2017 that he allowed seven earned runs in a game. Yamamoto has lost two of four Japan Series games in three years.
Leave a Reply