No hits for 9 days.
Hayato Sakamoto (35), the starting shortstop for the Yomiuri Giants, recorded no hits in 21 consecutive at-bats. In an exhibition match against the Rakuten Eagles held at the Tokyo Dome on the 24th, he went 3 at bats and had no hits. He started 5-shortstop and retired with a float to center field in the 2nd inning, a grounder to shortstop in the 4th inning and a strikeout in the 5th.
In the 2nd and 4th innings, the two at-bats 메이저사이트were against Rakuten starter Masahiro Tanaka (35), a classmate.
The third at-bat in the fifth inning was disappointing. After one death, Rui Okoe hit the left fielder in the first, and Naoki Yoshikawa in the second and Yoshihiro Maru in the third got a walk and the bases were loaded with one out. The center batting line had to solve the problem, but it ended helplessly. Following Sho Nakata’s strikeout at No. 4, Sakamoto’s No. 5 returned with a standing strikeout.
In the ball count 1B2S, opponent right-hander Shoma Fujihira was hit by a 150km/h fastball thrown into a low course outside the strike zone. This happened when they were trailing 1-4. This score continued and Rakuten won.
Sakamoto was replaced after defending in the 6th inning.
In the 5th inning against Softbank Hosk on March 15, there has been no hit since hitting the shortstop side of the infield. Hitless in 21 consecutive at-bats. In 12 games, he went 2 hits in 31 at-bats and his batting average dropped to 6.5 leagues. He scored one run without a home run, slugging, or RBI.
No matter how much it is an exhibition game, it is a very serious level of sluggishness.
Prior to the match, Yomiuri’s WBC (World Baseball Classic) winning members joined the team. Third baseman and fourth hitter Kazuma Okamoto (27), starter Shōsei Dogo (23), and closer pitcher Daisei Ota (24) received applause and changed into Yomiuri uniforms.
Sakamoto was a key player in the 2013 and 2017 WBC Japan national team. He was the main shortstop and main hitter. Due to the sluggish performance last year due to injury and the generational change of the national team, he was unable to participate in this tournament. Genda Sosuke (30, Seibu) played as the starting shortstop until the final match despite a finger injury.
There is less than a week left until the start of the regular season. If the current sluggish batting continues, it may be difficult to play in the opening game.
Until last year, he had 2,205 hits in his career. He averaged over 150 hits per season. Sakamoto is aiming for 3,000 hits in his career.