Rocky Sasaki (Chiba Lotte Marines), who is being reborn as the next-generation ‘ace’ representing Nippon Professional Baseball, is showing insane resilience. He didn’t seem likely to see him on the mound 온라인바카라 all season, even until an injury took him off the line, but he’s already pitched in the bullpen for the second time.
Japanese multiple media such as ‘Daily Sports’, ‘Nikkan Sports’, and ‘Sports Hochi’ reported on the 29th (Korean time) the news of Roki Sasaki’s bullpen pitching.
Sasaki, who was selected by Chiba Lotte in the first round of the 2019 Nippon Professional Baseball Rookie Draft, had the best year last year. Sasaki caught the fans’ eyes just by spraying his best 164 km fast ball, and quickly became the league’s top pitcher by achieving a ‘perfect game’.
The only regret was ‘durability’. Sasaki struggled a bit due to a blistering injury at the end of the first half and physical problems in the second half, and the first 10 wins of his career were delayed until later, but after leaving an impressive record with 9 wins and 4 losses and an average ERA of 2.02, he enjoyed the joy of being on the World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team. He pitched in 2 games and recorded 1 win, 0 loss and ERA of 3.52, helping the Japanese national team to lift the championship trophy.
After stepping on the professional stage, Sasaki participated in the most matches last year and accumulated experience in international competitions. Sasaki showed his potential to sweep various indicators of the Pacific League, such as breaking his personal best speed (previously 164km) this year to 165km, and stepping on the first 100 strikeouts in the Pacific and Central Leagues in just 11 games.
But this year, the problem was ‘injury’. Like last year, Sasaki had a hiatus of about a month this year due to ‘blisters’. On the 24th of last month, in a face-to-face confrontation with the Softbank Hawks, Sasaki pitched 93 pitches, 4 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts and 1 run (1 earned) in 6 innings. After struggling with it, he is unable to enter the game. This time it’s an internal oblique injury.
At that time, Sasaki’s highest speed in the Softbank match was only 160 km. It wasn’t a slow ball by any means, but it was far from Sasaki’s usual appearance. And the next day, Sasaki was erased from the first team, and according to local media outlets such as ‘Daily Sports’, coach Masato Yoshii said, “Sasaki’s left internal oblique muscle (problem) was erased.”
Next, coach Masato Yoshii explained, “I felt a little pain while dealing with the last batter, and it seems that the pain got worse as I threw 4 more pitches and returned to the bench.” If the symptoms persist, the possibility of despair this season has also risen,” he said, hinting at the possibility of a season out.