Chiba Lotte CS wins game 1 completely
‘Perfect pitcher’ Loki Sasaki (21) recorded 3 perfect innings in the postseason. Sasaki appeared as a starting pitcher in the first game against Softbank Hawks in the Pacific League Climax Series First Stage held at ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba, Japan on the 14th.
Chiba Lotte recorded 70 wins, 5 draws, and 68 losses (a winning percentage of .5072), and took second place in the league, beating third place Softbank with 71 wins, 3 draws, and 69 losses (a winning percentage of .5071) by one margin.
Sasaki appeared in 15 games this season and recorded 7 wins, 4 losses, and an average ERA of 1.78. He did not appear in many games due to injury. In May, there was a 3-week break due to a finger blister injury.
Then, in his first appearance of the second half of the season, against Softbank on July 24, he suffered a side injury and rested for about two months. He returned to the game against Orix on September 10th after rehabilitation faster than expected, but his physical condition was not perfect, so he only pitched 3 innings in 2 appearances.
Before the selection against Softbank on September 24, he was unable to pitch due to fever, and was eventually excluded from the first team due to COVID-19. He finished the season early and has been preparing for a postseason run.
On this day, against Softbank, Sasaki threw a fastball of 161km as the first pitch to the first batter in the first inning, and was outed by the pitcher's fly ball. He then struck out a grounder to second base and a missed swing, ending the game with a three-way pitch.
In the second inning, the inning ended with a strikeout, a fly ball to center field, and a ground ball to shortstop, along with a maximum speed of 162 km. In the third inning, he struck out consecutive hits with a forkball, and then hit a fly ball to center field to hit 9 batters in a row.
He was substituted in the fourth inning with a 4-0 lead. Sasaki threw 41 pitches over 3 innings, allowing no hits, no walks, 4 strikeouts, and no runs. His highest velocity was 162km twice.
Chiba Lotte's top hitter, Takashi Ogino, hit a home run in the first inning. After two outs, Polanco, who was tied for the Pacific League's home run title, hit a solo home run over the right wall to take a 2-0 lead.
Chiba Lotte had a chance with one out and the bases loaded with three walks in the third inning. Softbank dropped starter Stewart and promoted Hernández to a relief pitcher. When the shortstop grounded out, the second baseman, who was attempting a double play, made an error by throwing to first base, causing two runners to hit home. 4-0.
Softbank trailed 4-2 in the 6th inning when Yuki Yanagita hit a two-run home run with one out and one on first base.
Chiba Lotte immediately scored 4 hits in the bottom of the 6th inning to score 3 runs and take the win by 7-2. Chiba Lotte added one more run in the bottom of the 8th inning to win 8-2.