"I thought I threw the best four-seam fastball of the year..."
The Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers played a 2024 Major League Baseball game at Rodgers Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the 28th (Korea time). The result was a 4-2 victory for the Dodgers.
The match drew attention as Japanese players had a showdown. It was a meeting between Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers and Yusei Kikuchi of Toronto. The two were from Hanamaki Higashi High School. There is also a famous anecdote that Ohtani went to Hanamaki Higashi High School because he respected Kikuchi.
Having dreamed of entering the big leagues on the Japanese professional baseball stage, both made it to the big leagues. Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Angels ahead of the 2018 season, and Kikuchi teamed up with the Seattle Mariners the following year.
Before today's game, the two had a total of 20 pitching and hitting matches on the big league stage, and Ohtani showed strong performance with six hits, three homers, four RBIs, one walk, six strikeouts, and an OPS of 1.133.
Ohtani faced Kikuchi for the first time in the top of the first inning while wearing a Dodgers uniform with no outs. He hit Kikuchi's 97.3 mph (about 156 kph) four-seam fastball, and second baseman Cavan Biggio caught and disposed of the fast-paced 108.7 mph (175 kph).
However, he didn't miss an opportunity in his second at-bat, either. In the top of the second inning, he hit Kikuchi's 98.2 miles (158 km/h) four-seam fastball with runners on first and third bases with two outs. The ball went to right field. He recorded the 119.2 km/h exit velocity. It was Ohtani's personal best in the big leagues and the fastest exit velocity of the season.
In the top of the fourth inning, Ohtani again met Kikuchi by turning his bat at an 82.1 miles (about 132 km/h) curveball on 2B2S, but he failed to hit the ball. He struck out, and after that, there was no further game between the two players. He finished with one hit, one RBI, and one strikeout for three.
"Of course, there was a little more adrenaline," Kikuchi said after the game, "I think I threw the best four-seam fastball of the year, but the pace of my exit was pretty good as well. Ohtani did his best, but I was happy to let him go after that."
link: 안전놀이터 추천
