◆ Wanting to tie the score with a runner on first and no outs… The reason why Koshino said “I don’t think I was even thinking about sacrifice bunt”
Rakuten Nippon-Ham In the top of the 1st inning, Nippon-Ham and Ryota Isobata were hit by a hitter Home Run pitch to lead off the inning and allowed the first run to score. In the bottom of the inning, the first Daisuke Nakashima hit a infield hit over the head of the pitcher, but the second Itsuki Murabayashi fell on a double play hit and missed a good opportunity to counterattack.
They couldn’t catch up to Nippon-Ham after that and lost their third straight game. Rakuten On the Fuji TV One “Pro baseball News 2025” broadcast on the 20th, Tsutomu Iwamoto looked back on the game and said, “I think that was also the first inning. Nakajima was hit by a pitch in the first and got a base hit, which was unpleasant for the opponent, but Murabayashi got him on the first pitch (double play hit him down). The first base hit by Nakajima was a nasty one for the opponents, but Murabayashi got on base on the first pitch (Takayuki Kato hit by pitch),” he pointed out. He questioned the tactics of Rakuten, saying, “From the pitcher point of view, I really don’t like it when they advance runner into scoring position….
On the other hand, Koshino Kenji analyzed, “But from Rakuten perspective, manager Miki has overwhelming confidence in Murabayashi to hit. Murabayashi has a high batting average of .348 with a runner on first base. And unlike Nippon-Ham, which focuses on hitting Home Run one after another, Rakuten plays baseball style of baseball that relies on using their feet to connect runs. It was Murabayashi, a point getter, that was the reason they went for him to hit, and the ball just happened to go straight at second baseman. I don’t think they were even considering the tactic of sacrifice bunt.”
☆ Cooperation: Fuji TV ONE “Professional baseball News 2025”
AloJapan.com