TOKYO – 20-year-old pitcher Roki Sasaki had a perfect game in the Pacific League in Japan. He struck out 19 batters to lead the Chiba Lotte Marines to a 6-0 win over the Orix Buffaloes.
In achieving his feat, Sasaki struck out 13 in a row on three strikes and needed only 105 pitches to complete the game. To add to the grandeur of the feat, the pitcher worked with an even younger receiver, Ko Matsukawa, who was just 18 years old.
“Honestly, I didn’t even think about that possibility,” Sasaki told Kyodo News Agency after the match. I figured it was okay if I gave it a hit, so I just pitched, putting all my trust in Matsukawa until the end. »
This is the 16th perfect game in a Japanese major league, but the first since Hiromi Makihara’s game with the Yomiuri Giants in the Central League on May 18, 1994.
According to the Kyodo news agency, Sasaki joined the Marines after being recruited in high school. He would also have aroused the interest of Major League Baseball teams in North America since his fastball would regularly reach 100 miles per hour.
