Leads 1-0 against Japan’s best ace, gives up a shocking two-out, game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth…2G consecutive shutout losses→12th in 54 years

The SoftBank Hawks took a 1-0 lead against Japan’s strongest ace, Chiba Lotte Marines’ Roki Sasaki (22), but gave up a game-tying home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to fall to their 12th straight loss.

SoftBank suffered a 1-2 walk-off loss to Chiba Lotte on April 24 at ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

Mired in an 11-game losing streak heading into the game, SoftBank faced the ace they most wanted to avoid: Sasaki, who became the youngest player in Nippon Professional Baseball to throw a perfect game last year.온라인바카라

Sasaki, who is 7-2 with a 1.48 ERA this season, lived up to his reputation against SoftBank. In six innings of four-hit ball, Sasaki stifled the SoftBank offense with nine strikeouts and one walk. The only run he gave up was an RBI single to Akira Nakamura in the first inning.

SoftBank’s hopes of snapping the losing streak were boosted by starter Shuta Ishikawa, who pitched seven innings of four-hit ball with three walks and seven strikeouts. Yuki Matsumoto, who took the mound in the eighth inning, also pitched a scoreless inning to preserve the narrow lead.

Closer Roberto Osuna took the mound in the ninth inning with SoftBank leading 1-0. Osuna had a 0.32 ERA (1 run in 28 innings) heading into the game.

Osuna got into trouble when leadoff hitter Gregory Polanco doubled. With runners at first and third, he got a pitcher’s interference and threw out the runner at third, putting runners at second and third. He was one out away from snapping an 11-game losing streak.

Osuna threw a 152-kilometer high fastball to Chiba Rode’s pinch-hitter Katsuya Kakunaka on the first pitch of the at-bat, but the tower came crashing down in one fell swoop as he allowed a game-tying two-run homer over the right field fence.

Japanese media outlet Sponichi Annex reported, “SoftBank suffered a nightmarish late-game defeat for the second straight game, its longest losing streak in franchise history at 15 games (including one tie) and its 12th straight loss in 54 years, dating back to 1969. Sasaki, the “Reiwa Monster,” scored the game’s first run in the first inning and both teams entered the ninth scoreless. Manager Hiroshi Fujimoto didn’t hesitate to bring in Osuna, but the veteran Kakunaka, who pinch-hit for him, got a perfect pull on Osuna’s second pitch, a 152-kilometer-per-hour fastball. “Osuna put his hands on his knees in frustration, the catcher stared blankly in the direction of the ball’s disappearance, and the players on the field didn’t move until Kakunaka rounded the bases and came home,” he said, ending SoftBank’s shocking 12-game losing streak.

SoftBank’s woes are set to continue. On the 25th, the team travels to face the Orix. The Orix will start Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who won four pitching awards for the second consecutive year, and Hiroya Miyagi, who was selected for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) along with Yamamoto, on the 26th.