Neo pitched from the 7th inning of 1-point behind, with no hits and no runs in the 1st inning, marking his fastest 153km.
■ Hanshin 2-1 Chunichi (15th, Koshien)
Pitcher Akira Neo of Chunichi showed a masterpiece of pitching at Koshien. In the game against Hanshin on the 15th, he pitched the relief pitch for the 9th time this season and got no hits and no runs. He marked 153km, the fastest of his own, and shook the sanctuary. Kei Igawa, the left-hand man of the Sawamura Award, who played in the Hanshin Tigers and won a total of 95 wins in Japan and the United States, said, “It’s perfectly okay to see it as a force.”
Following the starter Ueda, Neo went up to the mound as the 2nd place from the 7th inning. The leading Itohara is a 152km fastball with a ground ball, and Yamamoto is 151km with a second flight. At the end, Hojo was held down to a grounder at his fastest 153km, showing a good throw of the three-way retreat.
All straights measure over 150 km. Mr. Ikawa said, “I can calmly take a strike even from 3 balls, and I am manipulating the changing ball firmly. I am throwing the ball I intended.” ..