At exactly one in the afternoon, amidst the tremendous cheers of the home crowd, Shetsu Shou, today's starting pitcher, stepped onto the pitcher's mound at the Yahoo Dome, marking the official start of the first game of the three-match series between SoftBank and Seibu.
The first batter, Esteban Geman, swung at the inside cutter thrown by Shetsu Shou and hit a ground ball towards shortstop—such a hit posed no difficulty for Imamiya Kenta, who received the ball and sent it steadily to first base.
The second batter, Kataoka Yasuyuki, once won the Pacific League's base-stealing title for four consecutive years, able to run 50 meters in 5.8 seconds and reach first base in just 4.06 seconds. Along with his extensive experience, stealing 50 bases in a single season was effortless for him during his peak; however, in recent years, with increasing age and injuries, he missed many games and mostly took on the second batter's role, which is often a strategic sacrifice position.
