The fourth game of the Japan Series of professional baseball was held at Kyocera Dome Osaka on the night of the 26th, and Orix beat Yakult 1-0.

With this, Orix has a record of 1 win, 2 losses and 1 draw.

Orix starting pitcher Taisuke Yamaoka seals Yakult's core

Orix, who had not won until the third game, entrusted pitcher Taisuke Yamaoka with the starting pitcher for the fourth game.

With his tenacious pitching, he sealed Yakult's core and brought it into a close battle.



Yamaoka, who is in his sixth year, won the title with the highest winning percentage in the season three years ago with a record of 13 wins and 4 losses. I was.



This season, he has been a part of the starting rotation since the first half of the game, and in the interleague game with Yakult held in June, he won seven times with one goal.



Pitcher Yamaoka faced the starting line-up in Game 4, saying, "I've been pitching in friendly matches, and the opponents haven't changed much, so I'm not surprised. Just pitch as usual, and there won't be any change."



Pitcher Yamaoka was in a pinch with 2 outs from the 1st inning and 2nd base and 3rd base, but Yakult's No. 5 Osuna, who has a batting average of over 60% in the series so far, was beaten by an infield grounder.



Furthermore, in the 3rd inning, Yakult No. 4 Munetaka Murakami struck out with 2 outs, 1st base, and 2nd base with the vertical slider of the deciding ball, and survived the pinch.



“Anyway, I went up to the mound thinking that I would be able to compete with each batter.



Although he got off the mound in the middle of the 5th inning, he held back Yakult, who was wary of his tenacious pitching, and did not allow the opening goal and brought it into a close game.

Yakult Masanori Ishikawa Unable to become the oldest winning pitcher in the Japan Series

Yakult was the oldest pitcher in the team, Masanori Ishikawa, and gave up one goal in five innings, but at the age of 42 years and 9 months, the oldest pitcher in the Japan Series, he could not become the winning pitcher.



Pitcher Ishikawa, who is a Yakult player, won six wins this season in his 21st year and contributed to the team's consecutive league title.

In June, he reached a total of 3000 innings, becoming the 28th player in professional baseball history.



Pitcher Ishikawa started in Game 4 of last year's Japan Series.

At the age of 41, he won the series for the first time, and for the second year in a row he was entrusted with the starting line-up on the big stage, saying, "I'm happy to have the opportunity.



However, when they stood up, they lacked control, and even when they threw the ball to the very edge of the strike zone, the ball just missed.



He managed to close the key points by giving four four-balls by the second inning, but in the third inning, he put out the lead with a dead ball and advanced the runner, and was robbed of the first goal with a timely hit.



Even so, he recovered in the 4th and 5th innings, held back no hits, and waited for support, but the batting lineup had a chance and didn't get one more hit.

He came off the mound after giving up one run in five innings and was never a winning pitcher at the age of 42 years and 9 months.