Game RECAP April 15 / 2025 Hanshin vs Yakult Swallows @Matsuyama | Tora-Ho!
RECAP
A Sharp Win in Matsuyama as Bats and Pitching Align
Dominant Win in Matsuyama!
Victory in Style!
Although today’s game was technically a home game for the Yakult Swallows, it was held at a regional stadium—a common occurrence early in the NPB season. This time, it took place in the historic city of Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, at Matsuyama Botchan Stadium.
The game kicked off strong: Chikamoto opened with a double in the top of the first, advanced by Nakano’s groundout, and was brought home by a clean RBI single from Morishita, who was batting third. In the sixth inning, Morishita once again led the charge, setting off a barrage of five consecutive hits from Sato, Ohyama, Maegawa, and Umeno—leading to a huge four-run inning that all but sealed the game. It was a textbook Hanshin rally: focused, timely hitting at its finest.
On the mound, Saiki delivered an exceptional performance—carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Even after allowing his first hit, he escaped the inning unscathed and finished seven scoreless innings with just 100 pitches.
Although Yakult managed to scratch across one run in the 9th following a defensive miscue, Hanshin closer Iwazaki came in to lock it down and earn the save.
Having failed to win against the Swallows at Koshien earlier in the season, this win was especially satisfying. With two rainouts last week (Thursday and Sunday), and Monday and Wednesday being travel days, the bullpen hasn’t seen much action recently—raising some concern about keeping everyone in rhythm. But with Golden Week and a string of consecutive games just around the corner, the team now has a chance to get their rhythm and conditioning back on track.
And hey—the bats are finally starting to warm up again, with yet another double-digit hit day. Feels like things are turning around nicely.
As for tomorrow… no game! Time to scout our rivals, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars and Yomiuri Giants 😎📊
Box
| Order | Pos | # | Name | AB | R | H | RBI | SB | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (CF) | 5 | Chikamoto | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2B | – | G4 | – | K | F8 | – | – | BB |
| 2 | (2B) | 51 | Nakano | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | G3 | – | 2B7 | – | – | K | F8 | – | G4 |
| 3 | (RF) | 1 | Morishita | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1B8① | – | G6 | – | – | 1B9 | 1B7 | – | G1 |
| 4 | (3B) | 8 | Sato | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | K | – | K | – | – | 3B89① | K | – | – |
| 5 | (1B) | 3 | Ohyama | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | K | – | – | BB | – | 1B8① | F2 | – | – |
| 6 | (LF) | 58 | Maegawa | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | G3 | – | F7 | – | 1B9 | – | G6 | – |
| 7 | (C) | 2 | Umeno | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | – | 1B7 | – | F9 | – | 2B7② | – | K | – |
| 8 | (SS) | 0 | Kinami | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | G6 | – | – | K | ROE4 | – | G6 | – |
| 9 | (P) | 15 | J.Nishi | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | F1 | – | – | G1 | SH1 | – | – | – |
| (P) | 54 | Ishii | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| (PH) | 25 | Watanabe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | G6 | |
| (P) | 47 | Kirishiki | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| (P) | 13 | Iwasaki | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| TEAM | 36 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| # | Name | NP | BF | IP | H | HR | BB | HBP | K | WP | BK | R | ER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WP | 35 | Saiki | 100 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 54 | Ishii | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 47 | Kirishiki | 13 | 4 | 0.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| SV | 13 | Iwazaki | 6 | 2 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TEAM | 135 | 34 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |