The Japan 2023 Series finally goes to Game 7. The Orix Buffaloes rallied to take the series to Game 7. Japan’s top pitcher, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (25), who is set to enter the Major Leagues next year, threw a nine-inning, 14-strikeout, one-run complete game, throwing a whopping 138 pitches.
The Oryx defeated the Hanshin Tigers 5-1 in Game 6 of the best-of-seven Japan Series 2023 (JS-7) at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan. With the series now tied at 3-3, the teams will meet for the final time in the seventh and deciding game at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
Oryx starter Yamamoto dominated the game. After taking the loss in Game 1, allowing five runs on 10 hits in 5⅔ innings with one walk and seven strikeouts, Yamamoto bounced back with nine innings of nine-hit ball (one home run) with 14 strikeouts and one walk. He threw a whopping 138 pitches to dominate the Hanshin lineup.
I was nervous when he opened the scoring with a home run in the second inning. A 156-kilometer fastball to Sheldon Noiji, a Hanshin outfielder, was hit high in the middle for a solo home run over the right field fence. He then gave up a double to Teruaki Sato in right, a single to Kento Itohara up the middle, and a walk to Seishiro Sakamoto to load the bases. It looked like it could be another big inning, but Yamamoto struck out Koji Chikamoto on a 148-kilometer forkball to end the inning without further damage.
In the fourth inning, runners on first and third with one out, Yamamoto took a breather after striking out Sakamoto on a 149-kilometer forkball, only to have Chikamoto hit a huge long ball to the right field fence. Right fielder Tomoya Mori made the crucial catch. He got in front of the fence and made a jumping catch to throw Chikamoto out at the plate. After a video review, the call was upheld, giving Yamamoto another victory.
After settling down with back-to-back strikeouts in the fifth and sixth innings, Yamamoto put runners on first and third with back-to-back singles in the seventh, but got Shota Morishita to ground out to second base. After retiring the side in order in the eighth with two strikeouts, Yamamoto took the mound in the ninth despite throwing 126 pitches. He was hit by a pitch, but got a strikeout and a grounder to second to end the game himself. His final 138 pitches didn’t run out of steam, clocking in at 152 mph. 무지개토토 도메인
The Oryx bats also helped Yamamoto. After giving up a run in the top of the second, the Oryx answered right back in the bottom of the inning. Marwin Gonzalez singled up the middle off Hanshin starter Shoki Murakami and Yutaro Sugimoto doubled to left to put runners at second and third, and Kenya Wakatsuki followed with a single to right. With runners on first and third, Keita Nakagawa hit a huge sacrifice fly to the left field fence to make it 2-1.
In the fifth, after Nakagawa singled up the middle, Kotaro Kurebayashi homered to left field. Murakami’s two-pitch forkball up the middle cleared the left field fence. In the eighth, Yuma Tongu blasted a solo home run to left off Hanshin reliever Yuki Nishi.