“I’m happy with my pitching form and I feel like I had good control”.
Roki Sasaki, ace of the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan’s Major League Baseball (Nippon Professional Baseball), has expressed his feelings after his final appearance in an exhibition game.
Sasaki started the game against the Chunichi Dragons at the Banterin Dome Nagoya in Nagoya, Japan, on April 24 and effectively shut down the opposing offense for five scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits and didn’t walk a single batter, while striking out five. He threw 60 pitches. His fastball reached a maximum velocity of 162 kilometers per hour.
After struggling in his previous start against the Rakuten Golden Eagles on Sunday, giving up four runs (six hits, four walks, and four strikeouts) in four innings, 바카라사이트 Sasaki showed off his health in his final start of the exhibition season and is ready for the regular season.
After the game, Sasaki said, “I was happy with my pitching form and I think my velocity was good. I hope to stay injury-free throughout the season and help the team. I want to pitch more innings than last year,” he said.
Meanwhile,
Sasaki, who was highly touted as a high school senior with a fastball that reached a maximum speed of 163 kilometers per hour, has made 46 appearances in the first team since making his professional debut in 2021, posting a 19-10 record with a 2.00 ERA.
He has never reached the 10-win plateau since his debut, but on April 10, 2022, he became Japan’s youngest player (20 years, 5 months) to throw a perfect game, striking out 19 batters in nine innings against the Orix Buffaloes. The 19 strikeouts were a Japanese record and the 13 consecutive batters he retired were a world first.
Sasaki made a strong impression on Major League Baseball clubs last March when he started the fifth World Baseball Classic (WBC) and threw a fastball up to 164 kilometers per hour. On April 28, he broke the Japanese record for fastball velocity with a 165-kilometer fastball against the Orix.
Roki Sasaki made headlines last December when he reportedly requested a major league posting.
However, the club did not respond. It meant that the club would not allow Roki Sasaki to be posted.
Since he’s only in his third year, he’s limited to the minimum salary, and the team doesn’t make much money off of him. The club’s refusal to allow him to post led to difficulties in salary negotiations, and there were even reports that he had left the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization.
Roki Sasaki, who re-signed with the team just before the start of spring training, said, “It’s been my dream to play in the major leagues since I was a kid. 사설 토토사이트 I’ve been talking to the club about it every year, and they’ve been understanding. I would love to play in the Major Leagues in the future, but I want to focus on this season first.”