It’s his 10th straight win in a start.
Yokohama BayStars left-handed ace Katsuki Azuma, 28, earned his 14th win of the season. He started a home game against the Junichi Dragons on Thursday and allowed three runs in 8⅓ innings. He led the team to an 8-3 victory and extended his winning streak to 10 straight starts. It is his 10th straight win since June 1 against the Rakuten Eagles. It was the first time in 40 years that a Yokohama pitcher had accomplished the feat since Kazuhiko Endo in 1983.바카라사이트
He threw 106 pitches against 32 batters until the top of the ninth inning. He gave up seven hits and struck out 10. His walks were more notable than his strikeouts. Finished the game with no walks. In 21 appearances this season, he has pitched 149 1/3 innings with just 14 walks.
Azuma has thrown all three of his complete games this season (two shutouts) with four strikeouts.
He got off to a good start in the first inning, retiring the first three batters he faced on a triple play: Yuki Okabayashi and Orlando Calixte on infield grounders and Seiya Hosokawa on a swinging strikeout.
In the top of the second, he gave up the first hit to Dayan Bishiedo, but retired Yohei Oshima and Takuya Kinoshita on a fly ball to right field and a swinging strikeout, respectively.
After retiring the side in order in the third and fourth innings, they scored their first run in the fifth. The leadoff hitter, Bishiedo, hit a home run to left field. Bishiedo took a 140 mph fastball up and over the plate. 1-1. Next up, Oshima.
Photo credit: Yokohama BayStars SNS
He was hit by a pitch, but retired the next three batters to end the inning.
No-hitters in the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings. Returned to the mound in the ninth inning with an 8-1 lead. By the eighth inning, he had thrown just 97 pitches.
The first batter he faced, No. 3 Hosogawa, swung and missed. He threw three changeups in a row, inducing three consecutive swings and misses. He had two outs in the fourth, but couldn’t get over the hump.
He gave up a two-run double to Takuya Ishikawa in left field and a two-run homer to Bishiedo in right field. Bishiedo crushed a 144-kilometer-per-hour fastball outside the zone. He came off the mound after giving up this home run. The three runs came on two of Viciedo’s homers.
Azuma has been tough on Junichi this season. He threw a four-hit shutout against Junichi on April 30 and a seven-hit shutout on July 2.
First overall pick in the 2018 draft. Went 11-5 with a 2.45 ERA in his rookie season and won the Central League title.
Photo credit: Yokohama BayStars SNS
He was crowned king. The game marked the first time in four years that he has pitched more than 143 innings since his rookie season.
Azuma is now 14-2 with a 2.17 ERA, 113 strikeouts, and a 0.875 winning percentage. He ranks first in wins and winning percentage, third in ERA, and seventh in strikeouts.