Nippon Ham Fighters right-hander Hiromi Ito (27) and Seibu Lions left-hander Jihiro Sumida (25) both pitched nine shutout innings on Tuesday. Good pitching was not just a good one. It was Maddox shutout with fewer than 100 pitches.
“Maddox shutout” is named after Greg Maddox of the Atlanta Braves, who became a legend due to his accurate ball control. With 355 wins in total, Maddox posted 35 shutouts. Out of them, he recorded 13 shutouts with fewer than 100 pitches.
It is said that it is the first time in 58 years that the two players had shutouts of Maddox on the same day. It is a record that cannot be achieved only with strong ball power.
Nippon-Ham Ito threw a brilliant hardball against the Chunichi Dragons at Escon Field in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido. He threw 98 pitches until the ninth inning, blocking three hits. He struck out seven, without four outs, out of 30 hitters. He gave up one hit each in the third, fourth and fifth innings, and ended the remaining six innings with three outs. Amid Ito’s good pitching, the team won 7-0.
Ito struck out Nakata Sho (35), a senior player who was close to him, for the second and fourth consecutive times. Nakata started from Nippon Ham, passed through the Yomiuri Giants, and moved to Chunichi last winter.
Since joining the team as the first rookie in 2021, Ito has posted a shutout since his debut season. This is his fifth shutout in his career. 토토사이트 추천
He summoned Yu Darvish (38) of the San Diego Padres, a senior player from the Nippon Ham team. It is the first time since Darvish that a Nippon Ham player has recorded a shutout for four consecutive years. Last season, he recorded a shutout against the Seibu Lions on August 26.
At the Hiroshima Carp match held at Tokorozawa Belunadom (Seibu Dome) in Saitama Prefecture, Seibu starter Sumida defeated Hiroshima’s lineup, the No. 1 team in the Central League, with 99 pitches. She blocked four hits and no run through the ninth inning. She pitched a powerful defense against Seibu, which had been losing eight games in a row, to win 5-0.
He threw 84 pitches and took the mound in the ninth inning. He was on the verge of losing a point with two outs and runners on the first and second bases.
The sudden heightened tension did not last long. He struck out No. 4 Keito Kozo with three pitches. At 2S, he swung and missed with a changeup of 124 kilometers per hour. In the game, he blocked Ko with two strikeouts and no hit in four times at bat.
Sumida is a promising player who joined the team as the first rookie of the year in 2022. She is the second player to win a shutout of Maddox in 36 years as a Seibu player.
The Nippon Ham game ended in 2 hours and 34 minutes, and the Seibu game ended in 2 hours and 35 minutes. The two players achieved the milestone with a gap of one minute.
In addition to Nippon Ham and Seibu, there are other teams that have won the honor at the Interleague (alternative match) held on Sunday. The Orix Buffaloes beat the Hanshin Tigers 4-0 at the Osaka Dome. It has won the game 4-0 for two consecutive days following the game the previous day.
Four pitchers, including Orix starter Anderson Espinoza, blocked the Hanshin lineup with four hits. Orix won two games first, to confirm the Winning Series, and to win seven consecutive games. Orix lost to Hanshin Tigers from the same Kansai region in last year’s Japan Series. It was able to alleviate its disappointment last year.