스포츠토토 The goal is simple. No more home runs.
Major League Baseball’s reigning Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer (Yokohama) is set to make his fifth start in Nippon Professional Baseball. Bauer will take the mound on Wednesday against the Seibuwa Exchange at Yokohama Stadium in Japan.
Bauer has struggled in Japan since being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He picked up a clean win (one run in seven innings) in his debut in Japan, but has since struggled. He tasted defeat in back-to-back starts, allowing seven runs on 11 hits in six innings and seven runs on eight hits in two innings.
He also made one adjustment in the secondary. Bauer rebounded on May 27 against Junichi with six innings of seven-hit ball and two runs. In four starts, he is 1-2 with a 6.86 ERA. It’s a stat line that neither Bauer nor Yokohama, who acquired him, were expecting.
Yokohama canceled their game against Seibu on the 2nd due to a typhoon and heavy rain. Gazelman, who was scheduled to start on the 2nd, was pushed back to the 4th, and Bauer will start on the 3rd.
“The goal is to not allow a home run,” Bauer told the Japanese media on Feb. 2. In four games, he has been hit by a home run in every game. He gave up one in the first game, followed by three, one, and two home runs. On May 27 against Junichi, he gave up two runs on two solo home runs.
Bauer hit 159 mph in Junichi, his highest velocity since coming to Japan. He’s coming off six days of rest. “Whether it’s four days off or six days off (in the major leagues), the first goal is to recover before the next start,” Bauer said of the typical once-a-week pitching schedule in Nippon Professional Baseball. “Even three days off is enough to recover,” he added.
“I’m going to try to do the best I can,” Bauer said. My pitches are getting better and better,” Bauer said confidently.
But the opposing starting matchup is huge. Seibu’s starting pitcher is Kona Takahashi. He is 4-2 with a 1.69 ERA in nine starts this season, leading the Pacific League in ERA.