adminThe SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball, the team that Lee Dae-ho threw out the ceremonial first pitch for this year, have lost 11 straight games.
SoftBank suffered a 3-4 extra-inning loss to the Chiba Lotte Marines on 23 March at ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, in a game that went into extra innings.
After taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning on Takuya Kai’s RBI single with the bases loaded, SoftBank quickly fell behind on Toshiya Sato’s RBI double in the bottom of the inning. They regained the lead in the top of the sixth on a two-run homer by Williams Astudillo, but gave up a tying solo shot to Koki Yamaguchi in the bottom of the sixth. In the extra innings, Chiba Lotte had the last laugh. With the bases loaded, Hisanori Yasuda delivered the game-winning hit to end the long game.
The loss was the 11th straight for Sopot Bank. Japanese media outlet Full Count reported, “SoftBank has lost 11 straight games for the first time in 54 years. It is the first time since 1969, when the team lost 15 straight games, that SoftBank has lost 11 in a row.”
Full Count writes, “Astudillo’s two-run homer in the sixth gave them the lead, but that’s where manager Hiroshi Fujimoto’s pitching change backfired. He replaced starter Yugo Bando, who had thrown just 81 pitches through five innings, with Fumimaru Taura. Taura struck out the first two batters he faced, but gave up a solo home run to Ryosuke Otsu to tie the game.”
The team’s spirits sank after the shocking loss. “SoftBank’s losing streak continues unabated,” said Japanese media outlet Nikkan Sports, describing the postgame mood as “a stern-faced Fujimoto refused to be interviewed after the game, saying, ‘I have nothing to say today.온라인카지노
SoftBank, who were leading the Pacific League, suffered their 11th consecutive defeat and dropped to third place in the league (43 points, 2 draws and 39 losses).
To make matters worse, on the 24th, Chiba Lotte announced that ace Roki Sasaki would start the game. Sasaki, who emerged as the league’s leading ace last year when he became the youngest player in Nippon Professional Baseball to throw a perfect game, has continued to excel this season with a 7-2 record and a 1.48 ERA in 12 games (79 innings).