“I wanted to end it with three straight strikeouts.”

Chiba Lotte Marines’ “monster” pitcher Roki Sasaki (22) pitched a scoreless first inning. He allowed one hit and struck out two as the Pacific League starter in Game 1 of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) All-Star Game at the Nagoya Dome on Aug. 18.

Sasaki finished the first inning and handed the mound to Orix Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 25. The two best pitchers in Nippon Professional Baseball replicated their relay performance for Team Japan at the World Baseball Classic (WBC).

Sasaki was the top Pacific League starting pitcher in this year’s All-Star fan voting. Yamamoto, who finished second to Sasaki, earned the last spot on the ballot through a “plus one” vote.

In the top of the first inning, Sasaki struck out two lefties, Takumu Nakano (Hanshin Tigers) and Shogo Akiyama (Hiroshima Capps). He got Nakano on a forkball at 1B2S and Akiyama on a slider at 1B2S, and he induced a wild swing with a low-country changeup.

No. 3 Sheldon Noiji (Hanshin) was blocked at the plate. A full count ensued. Sixth pitch, a 161 mph fastball down the middle. It was the fastest pitch of the day.

Noiji took it and lined it to center field. Sasaki then struck out No. 4 Yusuke Oyama (Hanshin) on a grounder to third base to end the inning.

One inning, 18 pitches, no runs.

Sasaki jokingly commented in his postgame interview, “I was aiming for back-to-back strikeouts and I’m upset that I didn’t get it.” He said the slider that struck out Akiyama was a pitch he learned from Darvish Yu (San Diego Padres) during the WBC.

Sasaki made his first appearance as a starter in Game 2 of last year’s All-Star Game. Last year, he gave up one run on three hits in one inning with no strikeouts, but this year he was relatively comfortable against Central League hitters.

Yamamoto followed Sasaki with two innings of one-hit, one-strikeout relief. Masahiro Tanaka (Rakuten Eagles), Soyoshi Wada (SoftBank Hawks), and Sachiya Yamasaki (Orix) took the mound in the third through fifth innings, each throwing one scoreless inning. 토토사이트

The Pacific League All-Stars scored four runs off Central League starter Shoki Murakami (Hanshin) in the top of the first inning on five hits. Shuta Donosaki (Seibu Lions), Gensuke Kondo (SoftBank), Ko Matsumoto (Nippon Ham Fighters), and Yuki Yanagita (SoftBank) hit consecutive singles to rattle Murakami.

The Pacific League All-Stars scored four runs off Central League starter Shoki Murakami (Hanshin) in the top of the first inning on five hits. Shuta Donosaki (Seibu Lions), Gensuke Kondo (SoftBank), Ko Matsumoto (Nippon Ham Fighters), and Yuki Yanagita (SoftBank) hit consecutive singles to rattle Murakami.