토토사이트The peace was short-lived. Shintaro Fujinami (Oakland Athletics), a one-time rival of Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels), dedicated Thurman’s game-winning home run.
Fujinami suffered his eighth loss of the season (5-5) after giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits with three strikeouts in 1⅔ innings of relief in the first game of the second half of the 2023 Major League Baseball World Series against the Minnesota Twins at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California, USA, on 15 May.
Fujinami took the mound with runners on first and second in the eighth inning, tied 3-3, and got Carlos Correa to ground into a double play, shortstop to first base. After a drawn-out battle that lasted 10 pitches, he induced a 99.4 mph (159 km/h) four-seam fastball to the second baseman. It was a successful pitching change.
Fujinami took the mound in the ninth, still tied 3-3, and gave up a leadoff double to Donovan Solano. He struck out the next batter, Byron Buxton, to give himself some breathing room, but then faced Joey Gallo for the game-winning run. A two-pitch, 99.9 mph (160 km/h) fastball from 0B-1S sailed over the right field fence. It was the sixth homer he had allowed in 14 games since 3 June against the Miami Marlins.
[Photo] Shintaro Fujinami ⓒGettyimages (All rights reserved)
Fujinami later struck out Gleyber Castro and Alexi Kirillov in succession to end the inning, but only after giving up two runs. Oakland fell to 4-5, and Fujinami took the loss.
Fujinami was a high school rival of Ohtani’s who threw a 160km fastball. He made his professional debut with the Hanshin Tigers and posted double-digit wins for three consecutive years from 2013, but struggled with his pitches and injuries after 2017. In 2020, he was indefinitely demoted to the second team for being late for team training following a COVID-19 infection.
[Photo] Shintaro Fujinami ⓒGettyimages (All rights reserved)
After going 3-5 with a 3.38 ERA in 16 games last year, Fujinami pursued a move to the major leagues through the posting system after the season ended, and finally realised his dream of playing in the United States in January when he signed a one-year, $3.25 million deal with Oakland.
As expected, Fujinami struggled through the month of April, going winless and posting a 13.00 ERA in four losses, starting with eight runs in 2⅓ innings in his debut against the Los Angeles Angels on 2 April. He continued his slump in May, posting a 10.50 monthly ERA without much of a turnaround.
Fujinami entered June with a monthly ERA of 3.97 and a six-game scoreless streak from 29 June against the New York Yankees to 10 July against the Boston Red Sox, but he was brought back to tears by a home run.
Fujinami’s ERA, which once soared to 30.86, has fallen to 9.06.
Read more: /backlight@osen.co.kr