Even though it is a high-speed ball approaching 160 km … impact drop like split
■ Angels 6-1 Astros (11th Japan time, Houston)
Angels pitcher Shohei Otani started on the 10th (Japan time 11th) against the Astros in the host country, and scored his 12th win of the season with 1 goal in 5 innings. The “new magic ball” that accounted for a quarter of the pitches supported the good pitching. Despite the high-speed ball approaching 160 kilometers, the drop like a split made US fans shudder, saying, “I wonder if I can bunt.”
The shocking pitch was the first pitch he threw to Altuve with one out in the fifth inning. 98.9 miles (about 159 km) to his inner corner was a big sink and took a whiff. AJ Pierzynski, a commentator on “FOX Sports”, said, “You missed the split,” but he is actually a sinker. “It fell so low that AJ Pierzynski thought it was a split,” tweeted pitching analyst Rob Friedman, nicknamed the “Pitching Ninja.”
A magic ball that deceives even the eyes of experts. Fans were surprised at the ball, whose speed and drop exceeded dimensions, such as, “This is like the magic of Harry Potter…” and “I can’t believe he’s human.”