Sasaki started the game against the Orix Buffaloes at the Jojo Marine Stadium on Tuesday, pitched 111 pitches during seven innings, leading his team to a 5-2 win with three hits, nine strikeouts and two runs, and displaying good pitching. Sasaki threw relatively well, allowing one run in five innings, in a game against the Nippon-Ham on March 31, his first appearance of the season, but failed to become a winning pitcher. He secured his first win of the season on the day. 스포츠토토핫
Although he allowed one run in five innings in the previous game, Sasaki had a hard time getting six hits. He also had seven strikeouts, but due to the number of pitches he pitched, he had to throw 95 pitches through the fifth inning and go over the mound in the sixth inning. On the day, he had a hard time in the beginning of the game as well. However, he managed to regain stability after the third inning and dragged the game through the seventh inning.
His ball speed, which drew attention, reached a maximum of 158 kilometers per hour on the day. Sasaki\'s best ball speed, which is in good condition, usually exceeds 160 kilometers. However, balls over 156 kilometers did not come out very often on the day. Although he shot 156 kilometers in the beginning of the game, most fastballs were formed between 152-154 kilometers, attracting many people\'s attention. However, his body was warming up a little more as he went, and he shot a maximum speed of 158 kilometers in the fifth inning, reassuring his surroundings.
After a three-base hit by Nishino with one out in the first inning, Sasaki gave up one run in vain due to his wild pitch during the batter\'s box against Nakagawa. In the second inning, runners walked with one out in a row and Fukuda hit a timely hit to the center field to give up the second run. However, starting in the third inning, his fastball speed began to rise, and his sliders displayed strong power, blocking the opposing batters. His team\'s batters also scored four runs in the fourth inning, when his team was losing 1-2, to give Sasaki the requirement as a winning pitcher. "Thank you for the batting line," Sasaki said after the game, picking up the winner in the fourth inning.
Afterwards, Sasaki displayed strength and maintained a good three-run lead. He had 98 pitches when the game ended in the sixth inning, but he took the mound in the seventh inning as well, cleaned up the three hitters, and finished the game. The hit-by-hit ball that Cedeno gave in the third inning was the last allowed to get on base, and from the fourth to seventh innings, he organized the innings with three hitters each, dispelling controversy over deterioration of his ball speed. Even with such speed limit, he could overwhelm the opposing batters.
Sasaki, who was praised as the "Monster of the Ray and the Age," is growing under thorough management by Chiba Lotte. After joining the team as the top priority in 2019, he underwent intensive training in the second division for a year, and from 2021, he became Japan\'s representative pitcher. He had an ERA of 2.27 in 11 ⅓ and 63 ⅓ in 2021, and 129 ⅓ in 20 games in 2022. He also had a perfect game at that time.
However, in 2023, when the inning limit was lifted, he pitched only 15 games and 91 innings due to injury. His WHIP per inning (ERA of 1.78 with 0.75) was remarkable, but he still had a long way to go until the stipulated innings. For this reason, when there were rumors about his advance to the Major League after last season, he was criticized for being greedy if he did not meet the stipulated innings. As the ball power itself is already the best, Sasaki\'s task this year is to prove its durability.