Continuing from the previous day, the third game of the 2014 SUZUKI All-Star Series was held in Tokyo Dome. With the full momentum of their two straight wins in this tournament, Samurai Japan achieved victory again this day, winning against the MLB All-Star Team 4-0 for three straight wins. The successive pitching from the starter, Takahiro Norimoto (Tohoku Rakuten) to Yuki Nishi (Orix), Kazuhisa Makita (Saitama Seibu), and Yuji Nishino (Chiba Lotte) kept the MLB All-Star batting line to no hits, a victory unlike any in the past 24 years in Japanese baseball, since 1990.
The starting pitcher Norimoto set the flow. In the first inning, he struck out the second batter Cano and the third batter Longoria, and overwhelmed the MLB All-Star batting line with the same intensity of his pitches from his regular season brought to the forefront. On this day, he demonstrated outstanding force with his fastball, which consisted nearly half of his pitches. Up until yesterday, the Japanese pitchers found it hard for the MLB all-stars to wave at their pitches, but of the six strikeouts Norimoto made today, three of them were fastballs (all swing outs). He threw 60 pitches in five innings, and left the mound with perfect pitching, not allowing a single runner, saying ""This was the best pitching of my life.""
Nishi, who took over the mound after Norimoto, allowed runners in the sixth and seventh inning, with two walks, but prevented follow-ups with a total of four strikeouts, pitching two innings with no runs allowed. The third pitcher Makita also allowed two walks, but finished the inning with no hits and no runs. Finally, Nishino, also tasked with closing the first game, pitched only three batters in the final inning, concluding the game as a no-hitter relay.
Meanwhile, the batting lineup, with Nobuhiro Matsuda (Fukuoka SoftBank) as third batter, designated batter Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (Yokohama DeNA) as fifth batter, and Yoshihiro Maru (Hiroshima) as seventh batter, efficiently scored four runs with six hits, two of which were homeruns. In the second inning, the sixth batter Hayato Sakamoto (Yomiuri Giants), marked for his seven homeruns this season, batted in the first run on the first pitch, followed by the fourth batter Sho Nakata (Hokkaido Nippon-Ham) hitting the first homer of the series in the third inning. This became a fulfilling victory with implications for the remaining games.
Post-Game Comments from Ambassador Akahoshi
A no-hitter by four successive pitchers. This was really remarkable. First, there was the starter Norimoto. I don't know how well fit he is to the major-league game balls, but since he pitched five perfect innings, I have no complaints. He pitched fastballs right from the get-go, with a top speed of 155km/h, and his sliders and forkballs were good as well. His pitching was just like it was in the season, if not better. He threw 60 pitches in five innings, and his strike-prioritizing rhythm was extremely good. His pitching was truly magnificent.
Nishi, Makita, and Nishino did a good job keeping them in check as well. They did a good job keeping them at bay amidst the pressure of a no-hitter. And in the sense of game development, I want to acknowledge the batting lineup for scoring points first. Above all, the homerun from the fourth batter Nakata was quite a big deal. And with the first base runner Matsuda getting a jump in that trip to the plate, you could see them moving together as a bench. And we cannot forget Japan's fielding power. There were many strikeouts this game. At times like these, it's hard for the fielders to form a rhythm and defend well, but Kikunaga still gave us a good play, and while Yamada was not used to fielding first base, he was able to defend it calmly. The entire team was able to focus well.
Either way, this shows that Japanese pitchers can pull off a no-hitter with good pitching, even against a batting line of first-rate major leaguers. We have once again proved the power and magnificence of Japanese pitchers. Tomorrow is the fourth game. We have won in many different ways from the first to the fourth games, so I look forward to what's next.
2014 SUZUKI ALL-STAR SERIES
