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The Mainichi
6 hours ago
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Buffaloes shine at home stadium as PL wins All-Star Game 1
OSAKA (Kyodo) -- The Orix Buffaloes' Yuma Tongu and Kenya Wakatsuki homered at their home stadium as the Pacific League beat the Central League 5-1 in Game 1 of Nippon Professional Baseball's two-game All-Star series Wednesday. Tongu was named the game's MVP for his three-run shot to left field that pushed the PL's lead to 4-0 in the third inning. Wakatsuki added a solo blast in the seventh at Kyocera Dome Osaka. Hiroya Miyagi, also a Buffaloe, started on the mound and threw two scoreless innings. The PL finished with nine hits. Yuki Okabayashi of the Chunichi Dragons had two of the CL's five hits. The series moves to Yokohama Stadium for Game 2 on Thursday.
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Secret to Yoshinobu Yamamoto's 2025 success? His hero-like effort in Game 5 of NLDS
Blue towels swirled around in every section of Dodger Stadium as his entrance song started to play. Yoshinobu Yamamoto stepped on the mound and into the chaos wearing a mask of calm. His appearance was misleading. Inside, he was terrified. 'I think that was the game for which I was the most nervous in my entire baseball career,' Yamamoto said in Japanese. Yamamoto can laugh now about his memories of Game 5 of the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres last season, knowing what was revealed on that October night and the path on which it set him. He started that game as an unknown, even to himself. He departed a hero. By the end of the month, he was a World Series champion. The momentum he gained in the playoffs carried into this season, which explains why the 26-year-old right-hander was at the All-Star Game in Atlanta earlier this week reliving what might have been the most consequential start of his career. The Dodgers will return from the All-Star break on Friday with Yamamoto as the only dependable arm in their billion-dollar rotation, and his newfound status as one of the best pitchers in baseball makes him their likely Game 1 starter when they open the postseason. 'He's just to the point where he knows he's a really good pitcher, he's an All-Star and he has high expectations for himself,' manager Dave Roberts said. The sense of stability that Yamamoto provides was something the Dodgers couldn't have dreamed of in his up-and-down rookie season last year. Yamamoto encountered difficulties that were unknown to him as a three-time Pacific League most valuable player with Japan's Orix Buffaloes, missing three months with shoulder problems. Even when he pitched, he performed inconsistently, and in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Padres, he gave up five runs in only three innings. 'The more I failed, the more it felt like things were piling up,' Yamamoto said. With a two-games-to-one deficit in the series, the Dodgers managed to win Game 4 in San Diego to set up a winner-take-all Game 5 in Los Angeles. Yamamoto was assigned to start the deciding game. Yamamoto had difficulty sleeping the night before his start. When he tried to think of anything other than the game, he couldn't. He felt the weight of his 10-year, $325-million contract, which was the most lucrative deal signed by any pitcher from any country. He was also pitching opposite Yu Darvish, making this the first postseason game featuring two Japanese starting pitchers. His worst fears were never realized. He pitched five scoreless innings in a 2-0 victory, delivering a performance that changed how everyone viewed him — the fans, the team, even himself. 'Being able to contain them there,' Yamamoto said, 'became a source of confidence.' Yamamoto downplayed his psychological fortitude that was required to regroup in the wake of his Game 1 calamity, describing his turnaround as a function of his ability to identify problems and remedy them. 'I'm by no means strong mentally,' he said. 'When I get hit, there are times I get really down. But as time passes, things clear up. What I have to do becomes clear.' Between the two NLDS starts, for example, Yamamoto adjusted the positioning of his glove, which the Dodgers believed revealed in Game 1 which pitches he was about to throw. His celebration, however, was short-lived. 'I felt like I cleared a mountain,' Yamamoto said. 'But there was no time to relax before the next game started.' Yamamoto started twice more in the playoffs, in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets and Game 2 of the World Series against the New York Yankees. He gave up a combined three runs in a combined 10 ⅔ innings over the two games, both of which the Dodgers won. 'I think it was a really valuable experience,' he said. 'Because of what I experienced, along with the advances I made from a technical standpoint, I think I was able to grow.' He also drew from the unpleasant times, particularly the three months he was sidelined with a strained rotator cuff. 'I spent the time determined to grow from that,' he said. 'I don't want to forget how frustrated I was.' The experiences gave him a baseline of knowledge he could take into his second season. As a rookie, he had reported to camp without any expectations. 'I didn't know what my ability was relative to everyone else's,' he said. 'I lacked a basic understanding of, 'If I do this, it will work, or if I do that, it won't.' So I wasn't thinking I'd be successful and I wasn't thinking I wouldn't be either. I really didn't know.' This spring training, he knew. He knew he could succeed. He also knew what he was up against. Standing a modest 5-foot-10, Yamamoto was struck as a rookie by the imposing physical frames of the other players. 'More than that, when you get to the ballpark, for example, Mookie [Betts] will be finishing up hitting drenched in sweat ,' he said. ' I was surprised by the amount of training, that players weren't just relying on their talent. It was a little shocking.' Recognizing that he lost weight over the course of last season, Yamamoto was determined to report to spring training this year with a stronger body. He also benefited from increased comfort with low-quality American baseballs and the pitch clock. He purchased a home, the off-field stability permitting him to focus more on his work. Pitching once a week as he did in Japan, Yamamoto was 4-2 with a 0.90 earned-run average in his first seven starts of this season. He started pitching on five-days' rest after that, and he wasn't nearly as dominant. He initially struggled pitching on a shorter cycle, but he said the causes of that were disruptions to his between-starts routine rather than anything fatigue-related. 'I think there is absolutely no problem with that,' he said. 'You pitch on six days' rest in Japan, but you throw 120, 130 pitches in seven or eight innings. That was tough. You have one less day to recover here, but you're also throwing fewer pitches, so you don't feel the fatigue that much. 'There are things that come up in between starts. For example, there could be two flights or you could arrive in a city in the middle of the night and have to pitch the next day. You won't be able to spend every five-day period the same way.' Yamamoto said he learned to better maximize his time between starts, which he pointed to as the reason he was able to regain his form leading up to the All-Star break. In his penultimate appearance before the intermission, he didn't make it out of the first inning and was charged with five runs, three of them earned. But in two of his last four starts, he didn't give up any runs. In another, he yielded just one. In fact, Yamamoto said that if the team asks, he thinks he could pitch on four days' rest. 'This year, my body has recovered really well,' he said. 'I often check with the trainers after the game, and we talk about how if it's like this, I could throw in four days, or how if I feel like that, I might be a little later. We go through different scenarios like that every week. I still haven't started on four days' rest, but I think my preparation to do that has gone well.' Yamamoto enters the final 2 ½ months of the regular season not only as the Dodgers' leader in wins (eight) but also games started (19) and innings pitched (104 ⅓). His increased comfort has extended into the clubhouse. He forged a somewhat unlikely friendship with South Korean Hyeseong Kim, the two of them often conversing on the bench during games. 'We speak to each other in broken English,' Yamamoto said with a chuckle. 'I really like Korean food, so he teaches me about that. There are differences between Korean and Japanese baseball, and the major leagues are a little different too, so stuff like that. They aren't deep conversations, but I think it's important to communicate, so we talk a lot.' Yamamoto has also developed a particularly strong admiration of Clayton Kershaw. 'In him, you have a player on the team whom you can model yourself after,' Yamamoto said. 'I also learn a lot watching him pitch. He's someone you can admire in every aspect. All of my teammates think of him like that too. That's the kind of player I would like to be.' The kind of player who could be counted on to take his turn in the rotation. The kind of player who can deliver for his team in big moments. Yamamoto is on his way.
The Mainichi
10-07-2025
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Kurebayashi grand slam lifts Buffaloes past Hawks
OSAKA (Kyodo) -- Kotaro Kurebayashi hit a grand slam as the Orix Buffaloes beat the SoftBank Hawks 4-0 on Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep in the Pacific League. Kurebayashi blasted a low 0-1 slider from Hawks starter Haru Matsumoto (3-3) high into the left stand at Kyocera Dome Osaka with one out in the sixth inning, going deep for the fifth time this year. Kohei Azuma blanked the Hawks over five innings on two hits, and relievers Taisuke Yamaoka (3-1), Sho Iwasaki and Luis Perdomo each threw a perfect inning for the Buffaloes. In other action, the Central League-leading Hanshin Tigers won their 11th straight game and eighth in a row against the Hiroshima Carp after coming from behind to prevail 6-3.
Japan Forward
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Japan Forward
Masataka Yoshida Set to Start Triple-A Rehab Assignment with Worcester
Boston Red Sox outfielder/designated hitter Masataka Yoshida has been sidelined while recovering from offseason surgery on his right shoulder. Boston Red Sox slugger Masataka Yoshida in an August 2024 file photo. (©Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY SPORTS/via REUTERS) Masataka Yoshida is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with the Worcester Red Sox, the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, on Tuesday, July 1. Since the 2025 MLB season began in March, Yoshida has been on the injured list. He underwent surgery to repair a right shoulder labral tear in October 2024. Boston manager Alex Cora said the time is right for Yoshida, a left fielder/designated hitter, to take the next step toward returning to the major leagues. "The swing feels great," Cora was quoted as saying by multiple Boston media outlets on June 28. "The throwing has been a lot better, being able to bounce back. We just have to map it out — how many games in the [outfield vs designated hitter]. "In the end, when the hitting feels comfortable, he'll be with us." The Worcester RedSox, aka WooSox, face the Syracuse Mets on Tuesday. Yoshida, 31, coped with shoulder pain during the 2024 MLB season. He only played one game in the outfield. Team management wants him to be available as a designated hitter and a left fielder. After serving as DH in 11 games during spring training (he hit .286) in March, Yoshida hasn't played in a regular-season game yet in 2025. While recovering from shoulder surgery, Yoshida was unable to make throws from the outfield during spring training, according to published reports. As a result, Yoshida began the season on the injured list. Masataka Yoshida (GETTY IMAGES/via KYODO) Time away from competition has helped Yoshida's physical condition improve over the past few months. "It's been a little bit longer than I expected," Yoshida said through an interpreter recently, according to "My goal was to be ready by Opening Day when I got the surgery, but it's been a long process. But overall, I think I'm in good shape and ready to go." Before starting his injury rehab assignment, Yoshida told reporters that he hopes to return to Boston before the All-Star break starts on July 14. Although he hasn't had at-bats in a game since spring training in March, the left-handed batter, did face live pitching at Boston's training complex in Fort Myers, Florida, in April and May, reported. And in recent weeks, he's been hitting against a pitching robot. "After spring training, it's been a while since I faced live pitchers, but I've been using Trajekt, hitting off of it, and trying to get my timing down," Yoshida said, according to "I think it just comes down to getting myself adjusted to major league pitching at the end of the day." A four-time All-Star and a two-time Pacific League batting champion with NPB's Orix Buffaloes, Yoshida signed a five-year contract with the Red Sox in December 2022. Yoshida appeared in 140 games in his first season with the Red Sox. He hit .289 with 15 home runs and 72 RBIs in 2023. In 2024, he batted .280 with 10 homers and 56 RBIs in 108 games. Author: Ed Odeven Find Ed on JAPAN Forward' s dedicated website, SportsLook . Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven .
The Mainichi
29-06-2025
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Ohtani throws 2 scoreless innings, hitless at plate in loss
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Kyodo) -- Shohei Ohtani continued to show his progress on the mound by pitching two scoreless innings while going hitless in four at-bats in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 9-5 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Saturday. Ohtani's four-seam fastball hit 101.7 miles (around 164 kilometers) per hour, the fastest pitch of his major league career, when he got Vinnie Pasquantino to ground into an inning-ending double play in a two-on situation in the bottom of the first at Kauffman Stadium. In Japan, his fastball topped out at 165 kph in a ninth-inning relief appearance for the Nippon Ham Fighters during a Pacific League playoff game against the SoftBank Hawks in October 2016. Ohtani allowed a single and a walk in the frame. He returned to the mound for a 1-2-3 second inning. The two-way star, who made his long-awaited return to the mound earlier this month from elbow surgery, struck out one in his third start of the season after working one inning each in his previous two outings. On the fastest pitch he has thrown in the majors, Ohtani said, "My velocity goes up naturally as I try not to give up a hit when runners are on base." "Overall, it was good to attack the (strike) zone aggressively." Maikel Garcia gave the Royals a 2-0 lead in the third with a two-run double off Ben Casparius, who relieved Ohtani. The Royals went on to extend their lead to 9-1 by the seventh, with Pasquantino driving in five runs with a homer and a double. The Dodgers had their five-game winning streak snapped. On the hitting side, Ohtani struck out three times and flied out once. In other action, Chicago Cubs designated hitter Seiya Suzuki hit a two-run homer, his career-high 22nd of the season, among his two hits in a 12-3 rout of the Houston Astros.
