Japanese Pro Pitcher Sasaki Roki Hurls 8 Perfect Innings
In Japan's professional baseball, Chiba Lotte Marines player Sasaki Roki pitched a perfect game through 8 innings against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. That followed up his perfect game in April.
Sasaki tossed a perfect game against the Orix Buffaloes on April 10, the first in 28 years in Japanese professional baseball.
He got off to another good start Sunday, racking up strikeouts with fastballs clocking in at 160 kilometers per hour. He also used his forkball to great effect.
He matched his performance from last week through eight innings, earning over ten strikeouts per game in four consecutive games.
Sasaki was pulled before the ninth inning, with 102 pitches. The game went into extra innings. Lotte ended up losing 1 to nothing.
After the game Lotte's manager Iguchi Tadahito said he wanted to see him pitch until the end of the game, as fans also missed out on a chance for a second straight perfect game. But Iguchi said he thought eight innings was the limit for Sasaki considering future games.