Yamamoto turns back the clock

Orix Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto reminded us how it used to be on Saturday with a 99-pitch, eight-inning preseason exhibition start.

Daily Sports reported that according to NPB BIS, the eight innings tied him for the longest preseason start in Japan since 1999. But that’s nothing, in March 1975, 13 pitchers threw complete games in preseason exhibitions.

Yamamoto, the Buffaloes’ Opening Day starter, struck out eight, while allowing a run on three hits and a walk. Yoshihisa Hirano, freshly returned from a three-year stint in the majors, surrendered two runs in the ninth in a 3-2 loss to the Yomiuri Giants at Osaka’s Kyocera Dome.

Here are all eight of Yamamoto’s strikeouts:

The Giants’ Opening Day starter, Tomoyuki Sugano, struck out three over five scoreless innings. Giants catcher Takumi Oshiro homered and doubled off Yamamoto, which counts as a good day regardless when it happens.

Sasaki takes mound, really

Roki Sasaki only faced three batters on Saturday at Chiba’s Zozo Marine Stadium, but because of him, the Lotte Marines sold all 5,000 tickets they offered for their Friday afternoon exhibition against the Chunichi Dragons.

Sasaki struck out Dayan Viciedo on a borderline outside pitch to end his 1-2-3 sixth inning on 12 pitches. So after more than a year as a pro, Sasaki, who may have been the hardest-throwing Japanese high school pitcher in his history, has finally played in a game.

Sasaki came on in relief of Kota Futaki. Lotte’s Opening Day starter struck out four without a walk over five scoreless innings.

Dragons starter Shinnosuke Ogasawara, whose left elbow may bear a good housekeeping seal since its been cleaned so many times in his brief career, allowed three runs over five innings on three walks and six hits. The lefty’s one strikeout victim was Leonys Martin, who had two hits and singled in a run for Lotte.

Yota Kyoda and Shuhei Takahashi each hit solo homers for the Dragons.

Tigers’ rookie Sato blasts off again

At Koshien Stadium, Teruaki Sato, one of the two big prizes in last autumn’s NPB draft along with rookie Rakuten Eagles lefty Takahisa Hayakawa, blasted yet another opposite-field home run to Koshien Stadium’s remote left-field stands in a 3-3 rain-shortened tie with the Seibu Lions.

In another match-up between Opening Day starters, the Tigers’ Shintaro Fujinami and the Lions’ Kona Takahashi each allowed three runs over five innings.

Lions catcher Tomoya Mori, the PL’s 2019 MVP, got the better of his reunion with Fujinami, whom he caught during their time together at Osaka Toin High School, with a first-inning RBI double. Fujinami struck out three, walked three and allowed three hits.

Chen Wei-yin and Robert Suarez each worked a scoreless inning for the Tigers, while Jefry Marte hit his second homer of the spring off Takahashi. The right-hander allowed seven hits, struck out three and walked three. The PL’s 2020 rookie of the year, Kaima Taira, worked a scoreless sixth.

Murakami goes deep against Hawks

At Tokyo’s Jingu Stadium, Yakult Swallows youngster Munekata Murakami homered for the second straight game, hitting a two-run shot off the SoftBank Hawks Opening Day starter Shuta Ishikawa in their 8-8 tie.

Seiichi Uchikawa, whose free agent move to the Hawks in 2011 was the first by an elite CL player in his prime and ushered in SoftBank’s decade of dominance, got one hit in two plate appearances with his new club.

Ishikawa struck out seven while walking four, which is normal for him, but the nine hits and five runs in 5-2/3 innings were out of character.

Swallows right-hander Yasuhiro “Ryan” Ogawa, their Opening Day starter, worked five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out five. But the Hawks bashed enigmatic right-hander Juri Hara for six runs in the sixth.