Yakult’s Seiya Hashimoto shines with 2 hits and 4 RBIs to earn MVP, Eastern League explodes in offense and wins 7-0 with a shutout relay
On July 20, the “2024 Fresh All-Star Game” was held at Wink Stadium (Himeji Municipal Himeji Stadium). It was the first time in Himeji and the first time in Hyogo since the Nishinomiya event in 1977. The much-anticipated starting pitchers were Hayato Sakai (Rakuten) from the Eastern League, and Yuugo Maeda (SoftBank), two high school graduates facing off.
Sakai opted for all 7 pitches as fastballs. He retired Keisuke Sato (Hiroshima) with a fly-out, Rintaro Tsujimoto (Chunichi) with a fly-out to first, and finally struck out Yoshiyasu Sasakawa (SoftBank) swinging with a high fastball. “I’ve pitched here since high school, so I felt comfortable throwing,” Sakai said with a smile. Yuugo Maeda also threw 13 fastballs out of 16 pitches, easily retiring the Eastern lineup in order. “I thought fans would want to see a true fastball showdown, so I threw more fastballs,” he reflected with a satisfied expression.
Taking the mound for the Eastern League in the second inning was Mitsuki Yoshino (DeNA), who pitched brilliantly with two strikeouts in a quick three-up, three-down inning. In the bottom of the inning, the second Western League pitcher Shota Habu (Chunichi) faced a pinch with no outs and runners on first and third after giving up consecutive hits to Yuma Yasuda (Rakuten) and Seiya Hashimoto (Yakult), but he escaped the situation by striking out Tomoya Koike (Oisix) and getting Raku Sakaguchi (Nippon Ham) to ground into a double play.
In the third inning, Eastern’s third pitcher Ruda Morishita (DeNA) maintained the shutout. In the bottom of the inning, his teammate Taiki Ishigami (DeNA) put on a show. After two outs, he took a full swing at a fastball from Kento Kawase (Orix) and hit a solo homer that landed just inside the right field pole. “I thought it might fall just short, but I’m glad it made it,” Ishigami said, pumping his fist as he rounded first base. The stadium erupted in cheers. In the fourth inning, the Eastern League created another scoring chance with consecutive hits from Takashi Terachi (Lotte) and Yasuda off Yuuta Saito (Hiroshima), leading to Hashimoto’s sacrifice fly that added another run, extending the lead to 2-0.
Looking to strike back, the Western League struggled to score against Taiga Ueda (Seibu) in the fifth and Tomoki Uemura (Oisix) in the sixth. In the seventh, with two outs, Keito Fukushima (Hanshin) connected with a fastball from Kengo Matsumoto (Yakult) for a single to center and successfully stole second base, creating a two-out scoring chance, but Seiya Yokoyama (Orix) flew out to left field, keeping the score blank once again. In the bottom of the inning, leading off was Yuya Shindo (Nippon Ham), who hit a perfect fastball from Takeshi Shiiba (Hanshin) for a home run that flew straight into left field, making it 3-0 for the Eastern League. In the eighth inning, they took aim at Jun Maeda (SoftBank), who boasted a league-leading ERA of 1.46, and loaded the bases with one out before Hashimoto cleared the bases with a timely double. Shindo followed up with another timely double, and the Eastern League added 4 runs in that inning, extending their lead.
Maintaining the shutout, the Eastern League sent Keito Matsuura (Nippon Ham) to the mound in the ninth inning. He retired Ryuta Hirose (SoftBank) and Masama Masuda (Kufu Hayate) on ground balls and finished strong by striking out Kenta Bright (Chunichi), celebrating with a vigorous fist pump. The Eastern League kept the Western League scoreless with a combination of nine pitchers, achieving their first win in two years with a 7-0 score. Their overall record improved to 23 wins, 30 losses, and 6 ties for the Eastern League.
Seiya Hashimoto, with 2 hits and 4 RBIs, was awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. “Being from Hyogo and receiving so much support from local fans gave me strength,” he expressed with a satisfied look. Additionally, Shindo and Ishigami, who both hit home runs, received Outstanding Player awards. The next generation of heroes captivated the approximately 11,000 fans who packed the stadium with their vibrant play.