After eyes in North America and abroad saw Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers’ late heroics, fans tuning into Game 1 of the Japan Series saw starter Kohei Arihara do his best ode to Ohtani.
Underpinning his strong start on the mound, Arihara broke the ice by slapping a two-run second-inning single the other way. A knock that would prove pivotal in the SoftBank Hawks’ 5-3 game 1 win. He also excelled in the more traditional part of his assignment, striking out four and walking just two in seven scoreless innings. He induced 12 swing-and-misses over his 104 pitches.
His counterpart, Yokohama starter Andre Jackson, enjoyed a little history too on the day, becoming the third player in Japan Series history to strike out five-straight batters. By then, however, the Hawks and Arihara had already made him pay.
Jackson struggled with electric but erratic, striking out nine but walking four. He was charged with only two runs — both coming from Arihara’s knock — and kept his team in the game well.
However, it wasn’t until the ninth inning that Jackson’s squad showed any signs of offensive life.
Tyler Austin led off the ninth with a double, coming around to score in the BayStars’ three-run ninth. But by then Arihara had already cemented himself into Japan Series history, turning in a truly all-around performance.
There were other little ways the Hawks were victorious Saturday evening, their 13th-straight Japan Series game.
After going ahead early SoftBank continued to add on, adding two more runs in the ninth via a three-hit inning. Kenta Imamiya’s two-run double cashed in on the early-inning knocks, scoring a pair and making the lead five.
Arihara also didn’t give in early, working around a walk and some early hard contact on his way to seven scoreless.
But it was the six-foot-two right-hander’s offensive performance that drew the most eyeballs in Game 1, his two-run knock proving to be the difference.
The team that wins the first game of the Japan series has gone on to win the title 62% of the time. Game two will include a marquee pitching matchup with Livan Moinelo (11-5, 1.88 ERA) of the Hawks taking on Shinichi Ohnuki (6-7, 2.85 ERA).
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