The Japan national team's first send-off match for the WBC = World Baseball Classic was held in Miyazaki City on the 25th, and the Japanese national team won 8-4 against Softbank.
The Japanese baseball team, which is holding a training camp in Miyazaki City, will play a send-off match with Softbank on the 25th and 26th as part of their preparations for the WBC.
On the 25th, which was the first actual battle, Lotte's pitcher Aki Sasaki started and threw two innings with a straight ball with a maximum speed of 162 km and a sharp breaking ball, keeping no runs and one infield hit.
He had three strikeouts.
Pitcher Sasaki commented, "I'm glad I was able to pitch this team's first game in good shape."
DeNA's Shota Imanaga, who pitched as the second pitcher, also performed perfectly in the second inning without allowing any runs, showing that there is no problem in using him in situations other than the starting pitcher.
The batting lineup was 0-0 in the 4th inning, with one out and the bases loaded. Kazuma Okamoto of the Giants, who started in the 7th and first place, scored 4 points in this inning, including a timely two base, and Okamoto in the 5th inning. 2 points were added in a timely manner, which was 2 consecutive at-bats.
After that, Softbank was close to 6 to 4, 2 points behind, but Orix pitcher Yuki Udagawa, who relieved in the 7th inning, 2 outs, 1st base, 3rd base, got through the pinch.
As a result, Japan beat Softbank 8-4, and won their first match since the training camp started.