Game RECAP April 1 / 2025 vs Baystars
RECAP
Home Opener—But Not at Koshien
Although this was technically the Tigers’ home opener, the game wasn’t played at Koshien Stadium. As always during the spring, the stadium was handed over to the national high school baseball tournament. Instead, Hanshin played at their secondary home, Kyocera Dome Osaka. The Tigers are notoriously strong at Koshien—often posting a home win rate over 60%—but at Kyocera, their results are typically on par with those of away games. Having to host 8 to 9 home games a year at a substitute venue like Kyocera Dome is a significant disadvantage compared to other teams.
As for the game… a clear loss.
Hanshin suffered a tough defeat today. Despite typically being known for his control, Saiki gave up a bases-loaded walk, and with both Sato Teru and Ohyama held hitless, there was little hope for a comeback. That said—if I may add one thing—the umpiring today seemed rather harsh against Hanshin. Especially when it came to strike and ball calls, it felt something like this:
(Side note: if you’re imagining a strike zone tilted against Hanshin… you’re not wrong.)
For a pitcher like Saiki, who thrives on painting the corners, inconsistent calls like these can really disrupt rhythm. The same goes for our hitters—when the strike zone keeps shifting, strikeouts are bound to pile up. Of course, complaining about the calls won’t change the outcome, but it’s important to accept that some games in a long season will go this way… and move on.
Still, there were bright spots to take away.
For one, Nakano, who struggled to connect in the opening series against Hiroshima, finally began to find his rhythm at the plate. And on the mound, two rookie pitchers absolutely shined. First-round draft pick Ihara pitched 1.1 innings of no-hit, no-walk ball with one strikeout—an impressive debut. And Kudo, who made the opening day roster straight from a developmental draft pick, matched that energy with a flawless inning of his own: no hits, no walks, and one strikeout.
Ihara is reportedly being considered for a starting role in the future, and with performances like today’s, it’s easy to see why. Together, they helped showcase just how deep Hanshin’s bullpen is again this year—and if today’s outing is any indication, that bullpen is going to be a major weapon in the season ahead.
Box
| Order | Pos | # | Name | AB | R | H | RBI | SB | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (CF) | 5 | Chikamoto | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | F8 | – | K | – | L6 | – | – | 1B7 | – |
| 2 | (2B) | 51 | Nakano | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | F8 | – | 1B9 | – | G3 | – | – | 1B9 | – |
| 3 | (3B) | 8 | Sato | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | K | – | K | – | K | – | – | L6 | – |
| 4 | (RF) | 1 | Morishita | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 2B89 | F8 | – | – | G6 | – | L4 | – |
| 5 | (1B) | 3 | Ohyama | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | G5 | – | G6 | – | F9 | – | K | – |
| 6 | (LF) | 32 | Inoue | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | – | K | – | K/WP | – | F9 | – | – | – |
| PH | 6 | Takatera | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | K | |
| 7 | (SS) | 0 | Kinami | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 1B7① | – | K | – | – | HBP | – | G6 |
| 8 | (C) | 12 | Sakamoto | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | F7 | – | IBB | – | – | K | – | – |
| PH | 38 | Obata | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | K | |
| 9 | (P) | 35 | Saiki | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | BB | K | – | – | – | – |
| P | 18 | Ihara | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| PH | 33 | Itohara | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | GDP1 | – | – | |
| P | 24 | Kudo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| P | 63 | Ishiguro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| TEAM | 32 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| # | Name | NP | BF | IP | H | HR | BB | HBP | K | WP | BK | R | ER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LP | 35 | Saiki | 95 | 27 | 5.2 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 18 | Ihara | 14 | 4 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 24 | Kudo | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 63 | Ishiguro | 23 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| TEAM | 141 | 41 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | ||