The SoftBank Hawks, the Nippon Professional Baseball team that Dae-ho Lee pitched for this year, have lost 11 straight games.
The Hawks lost a hard-fought, 10-inning game against the Chiba Lotte Marines on March 23 at ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, with a 3-4 final.
After taking an early lead in the top of the second inning on Takuya Kai’s RBI single with the bases loaded, SoftBank quickly fell behind on Toshiya Sato’s RBI double in the bottom of the inning. In the top of the sixth, Williams Astudillo hit a two-run homer to regain the lead, but Koki Yamaguchi hit a tying solo shot in the bottom of the sixth. In the extra innings, Chiba Lotte had the last laugh. With the bases loaded and two outs, Hisanori Yasuda delivered the game-winning hit to end the long game.
The loss snapped an 11-game losing streak for Sopot Bank. Japanese media outlet Full Count reported, “SoftBank has lost 11 straight games for the first time in 54 years. It is the first time since 1969, when the team lost 15 straight games, that SoftBank has lost 11 straight games.” 토토사이트
Full Count writes, “Astudillo’s two-run homer in the sixth gave them the lead, but that’s where manager Hiroshi Fujimoto’s pitching change backfired. He replaced starter Yugo Bando, who had thrown just 81 pitches through five innings, with Fumimaru Taura. Taura struck out two batters before giving up the tying solo home run to Ryosuke Otsu, who came on to pitch the next inning.”
The team’s spirits sank after the shocking loss. “SoftBank’s losing streak continues unabated,” said Japanese media outlet Nikkan Sports, “Fujimoto, who appeared stoic after the game, refused to be interviewed, saying, ‘I have nothing to say today.
SoftBank, which was leading the Pacific League, lost its 11th straight game and dropped to third place in the league with 43 points (2 wins, 2 draws, 39 losses).
To make matters worse, on the 24th, Chiba Lotte announced that ace Roki Sasaki would start the game. Sasaki, who emerged as the league’s leading ace last year when he became the youngest player in Nippon Professional Baseball to throw a perfect game, has continued to excel this season, going 7-2 with a 1.48 ERA in 12 games (79 innings).