Shosei Togo is enjoying a great season on the mound for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, throwing his second complete game shutout of the season today against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. He led the Giants to a 5-0 win and threw his first complete-game shutout since his no-hitter against the Hanshin Tigers on May 24. Togo owned a 2.48 ERA in 120 innings coming into today’s game.
With 118 pitches, Togo helped his team get a much-needed regular season win in a matchup between two winning teams. In his nine innings of shutout work, he only allowed five hits, walked one batter, and had five strikeouts. He also picked up a big hit with the bases loaded off of Sawamura Award candidate Daichi Ohsera. With the bases loaded in the seventh inning, Togo singled to left and due to a fielding error, the bases were cleared. Those runs provided Togo cushion to finish out the rest of the game.
This was Togo’s second complete game shutout of the season, with the first being his no-hitter on May 24 in a 1-0 win against the Hanshin Tigers. Togo only walked one in that game and struck out five on 123 pitches to throw his first professional career no-hitter. It was the 17th recognized no-hitter in Yomiuri Giants history and the 101st no-hitter in the history of the NPB.
The 24-year-old Togo made his debut with the Yomiuri Giants in 2019 and has been named an All-Star every season from 2021 until now. He has also enjoyed international success, being part of the Japan team that won the World Baseball Classic in 2023. In the championship game of the WBC, he provided two scoreless innings in relief, striking out both Mike Trout and Trea Turner.
The Giants are now 52-43 after the win and sit in second place in the Central League. The Toyo Carp are in first place and won the first two games of the three-game series, so Togo’s performance was crucial for the Giants to not fall further behind in the standings. The Giants will start a three-game home series against the Chunichi Dragons tomorrow.
___
WBN NPB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/japan/
Photo Credit: Shosei Togo of the Yomiuri Giants celebrates winning against Yokohama DeNA Baystars at Tokyo Dome on May 24, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Sports Nippon/Getty Images)
