◆ Pacific League Nippon-Ham 4-0 Rakuten (11th, ES CON FIELD)
On the 11th, Nippon-Ham won a comfortable 4-0 victory over Rakuten (ESCON), marking their first three consecutive home wins against the same team this season. They were the first team in both leagues to reach 20 wins, giving them a lead of six, and taking sole possession of starting line-up place since April 2nd. catcher Kengo Yoshida (24), who started as leadoff left hitter, had two hits and RBI hit in four at Home Run At Bat, including his first leadoff home run in the first inning. He supported fellow starting pitcher Furubayashi (Gurin) with his first home run to the left.
Without any hesitation, Yoshida took a full swing at the first pitch. He caught a 140 km/h fastball from Rakuten ‘s starting pitcher Kishi, pitched high and on the outside corner. The ball flew high and hit wall in the second-tier seats in left field for a solo home run, his fourth of the season. Looking back on his first home run as a leadoff hitter in the first inning, Yoshida said, “Just before I went to bat, my boss said, ‘You can go for it on the first pitch,’ so I went for it. It doesn’t look good if I go for the first pitch and get tagged out on a straight ball and hit pop fly. So I thought it would be okay if it was a foul.”
It was a hit that belied his own words. All three of Home Run up to that point had gone to his right, his favorite spot. And they were all smashed into the right bullpen of ESCON. Before the game, he happened to be talking about home run runs with Nomura. “All three were to bullpen, so I jokingly said, ‘This year, I’m going to hit 10 home runs into that bullpen.’ I was just talking about hitting bullpen, but I never expected to hit a different kind of home run right after that,” he revealed.
He strongly supported his fellow starting pitcher. He played as a battery with Furubayashi in their debut game, and lost to Rakuten on the day. “I hit home run runs in both games that Furubayashi was pitching. I even talked to Furubayashi about hitting another home run,” he said proudly. Manager Shinjo, who raised both arms the moment he hit the ball, said, “I was thinking about the first batter, (the in-form) Ishii. But Ishii can’t hit it if it goes up high,” and smiled with satisfaction as his hunches worked.
It was Mother’s Day. When asked about her memories, she said, “She was just the right amount of strict. I remember she had a rebellious phase and said some hurtful things. I always think, I should have listened to what my mother said. Like taking care of my health.” She also said of the best present she received, home run “I’m an adult now, so the day has passed, but I think I should have given her a present.” She plans to continue doing her best to reassure her mother.
(Yamaguchi Yasushi)
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・ [Nippon-Ham] On rising to the top of the league, manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo said, “I’m like Seko-san. It’s exciting in a professional baseball sense. But I want to run away with the lead.”
・ [Seibu] Seiya Watanabe hits the leadoff hit in the third inning. With the cheering song of Kazuhiro Kiyohara playing, he said, “I was only thinking about getting runner home.”
・ [Nippon-Ham] Kengo Yoshida hits the first pitch as the leadoff hitter in the first inning, hitting it straight at the plate. “It felt perfect. I’m glad I was able to hit it on Mother’s Day.”
・ [Nippon-Ham] Kazunari Ishii, who is in top form, hits his first home run of the season, “Thank you, Mom, for everything”
・ [Nippon-Ham] Reyes’ expression after catch his first defense foul fly of the season elicits cheers from the stands
AloJapan.com