June 9 NPB Yokohama SoftBank Japan-Korea Baseball Analysis Sports Analysis
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The poor performance of the bullpen leading to Yokohama DeNA BayStars' four consecutive losses will see Yutaro Ishida making his debut in the first team. Drafted in the 5th round last year, Ishida, along with Yomiuri's Yuya Nishidate, was the one-two punch at Chuo University and is a right-handed operational type pitcher. This year, he has recorded an ERA of 2.03 in the Eastern League, showing good control and allowing only 2 home runs in 40 innings, but he is prone to giving up many hits. In the previous game, DeNA's lineup, which was stifled by Carter Stewart Jr. and only managed a three-run home run by Tyler Austin in the bottom of the 8th inning as their sole score, continues to struggle with their batting. The team is only capitalizing on one chance in each game. The bullpen, including closer Morihara, has collapsed and offers no hope now.
With the power of their batting lineup leading them to consecutive wins, the SoftBank Hawks will have Tsuyoshi Wada (2 wins, 2.12 ERA) going for his third win of the season. Wada, who pitched 5 scoreless innings at home against Hiroshima on the 2nd, seems to benefit from sufficient rest. This game follows a rare schedule of pitching after six days of rest, so the target would be to allow around 2 runs in 5-6 innings considering his stamina. In the previous game, the SoftBank lineup scored five runs, including a pinch-hit two-run home run by Hiroki Minei, by attacking DeNA's pillars Azuma and Morihara, tallying an impressive 12 hits, showing they are somewhat overcoming the day game issues. However, Yuki Matsumoto, who surrendered a painful three-run home run, seems to falter about once every ten days.
Azuma collapsed. SoftBank has partially overcome their day game issues. It doesn't seem easy for the right-handed operational type Ishida to hold them off. Although there may be some doubts about Wada in away interleague games, considering DeNA's batting struggles and rest days, SoftBank shouldn't have bullpen deployment issues. The SoftBank Hawks, who are superior in strength, are closer to victory.
Expected Score: 6:3 SoftBank Victory
Win/Draw/Loss: SoftBank Victory
Handicap: SoftBank Victory
Over/Under: Over