SoftBank Hawks' Taiwanese pitcher Hsu Ruo-hsi made his second start in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) today, and his first appearance at his home stadium, Fukuoka Dome, against the Seibu Lions. Seibu Lions' Taiwanese star Lin An-ko started today as the 6th batter and right fielder, making their first pitcher-batter showdown in NPB a focal point.

In the top of the 1st inning today, Hsu Ruo-hsi gave up a solo home run to Koshima Taiga with two outs, marking Hsu's first earned run in an NPB regular season game. However, he quickly recovered, striking out Yuta Nakatsugu and preventing the opponent from extending their offense.

In the top of the 2nd inning, Hsu Ruo-hsi first gave up a hit to Seiya Watabe. In his first pitch against Lin An-ko, a 147 km/h fastball, Lin hit a weak ground ball towards third base. The SoftBank third baseman threw to second to get the runner, and Lin An-ko reached base on a fielder's choice. With two outs, Hsu Ruo-hsi then gave up an infield hit to Junichiro Kishi, followed by a strikeout, freezing the Seibu team's offense.

In the top of the 3rd inning, Hsu Ruo-hsi first walked Masashi Kuwahara, then retired the next three batters. In the top of the 4th inning, with one out, he faced Lin An-ko again. Lin hit a single to center field on the second pitch, extending his hitting streak to 9 consecutive games, but Hsu held steady and did not give up any runs.

Hsu Ruo-hsi walked a batter in the 5th inning but did not give up any runs. In the 6th inning, he gave up an infield hit to Seiya Watabe. With two outs, he faced Lin An-ko again, this time getting Lin to fly out to center field.

Hsu Ruo-hsi pitched a total of 7 innings today, throwing 90 pitches, allowing 6 hits, including 1 home run, striking out 5, and walking 2, with 1 earned run. His fastest pitch was 153 km/h. Although he only gave up 1 run, he did not receive offensive support from his teammates and left the game trailing 0-1, making him the pitcher of record for the loss. (Edited by Lung Po-an) 1150408

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  • Source: CNA (Central News Agency)
  • Category: event