It was the second consecutive home run following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) final match with the United States.
“23-year-old monster hitter” Murakami Munetaka (23) opened the 2023 season with a home run. On the 31st, in the opening game against the Hiroshima Carp held at Meiji Jingu Stadium in Tokyo, he started as a 4th and 3rd baseman and hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning.
He hit the first home run in the Central League this season. 메이저사이트The Pacific League opened the day before the Nippon Ham Fighters and Rakuten Eagles at the new soccer field, Scorn Field Hokkaido.
Murakami went to bat with a chance to score with second out and second base. Hiroshima right-hander Daichi Osera lifted the curve that was dropped to the low course in the ball count 2B1S. The ball went straight and flew over the fence in the middle of Meiji Jingu Stadium.
It was the opening home run that gave a 2-0 lead. Murakami struck out in the 3rd inning and withdrew with a fly ball to left field in the 5th and 8th innings. 4 at-bats, 1 hit, 1 RBI. With Murakami’s home run at the forefront, Yakult ended the opening game with a 4-0 victory. In the 6th inning, 5th, Jose Osuna hit a 1-run home run.
The Yakult Mound was as solid as an iron wall. Starter Ogawa Yasuhiro pitched 7 scoreless innings, and Shimizu Noboru and Hoshi Tomoya each blocked 1 scoreless inning.
Yakult is aiming to win the Central League for the third year in a row.
Murakami, the ‘home run machine’, hit the ’56th’ home run in the 143rd and final game of the regular season against the Yokohama Baystars last year. After hitting ’55 home runs’, he was silent for a long time, and then dramatically set a new record for the most home runs in a single season by a Japanese batsman. The last game of last year’s pennant race and the first game of this year’s pennant race led to a home run.
The best hitter in Japanese professional baseball. He felt the weight. Murakami suffered from extreme sluggishness in the first round of the WBC, where he played as the fourth batter. He came down from No. 4 to No. 5 from the quarterfinal match against Italy. After he was unburdened 4 times, he survived. He hit a two-run double to end the ninth inning against Mexico in the semifinals, and reported his first home run in the final.
The sense of hitting that came up in the second half of the WBC continued until the start of the regular season.