Arai Praises Saito’s Improvement as Carp Suffer Walk-Off Loss to DeNA

The Hiroshima Toyo Carp suffered a 4-3 walk-off loss to the Yokohama DeNA BayStars on August 8, extending their losing streak to four games and dropping their season record to a league-worst 17 games below .500.

The Carp took a 3-2 lead into the eighth inning, but DeNA tied the game with a solo home run before Yoshitomo Tsutsugo ended the game with another home run in the 12th.

Despite the disappointing result, Manager Takahiro Arai saw improvement from starter Yuta Saito.

Saito had struggled in his previous start against Chunichi, allowing five runs in four innings. Against DeNA, however, he pitched five innings and allowed two runs while striking out four and walking two.

“He was better than his previous outing,” Arai said. “He was able to attack the inside of the zone against right-handed hitters, and overall I thought his pitching was better.”

The Carp’s offense initially struggled against DeNA, but managed to rally in the sixth inning without recording a hit. Two consecutive walks helped create the opportunity, with Shunichi Noma drawing a bases-loaded walk and Keisuke Sato tying the game with a sacrifice fly.

In the seventh, Shogo Sakakura put Hiroshima ahead with his 17th home run of the season.

The lead disappeared in the eighth when Taichi Ko allowed a solo home run to Ernesto Encarnacion.

Ko has only recently transitioned into a bullpen role, making his appearance especially challenging.

“He had been coming back with zeroes every time, so there are going to be days like this,” Arai said.

Regarding Ko’s decision to attack a dangerous power hitter leading off the inning, Arai emphasized the importance of experience.

“This is his first year working in the bullpen, and we’re already asking him to handle situations like this. We can’t expect too much from him all at once. I want him to take what happened today and use it going forward.”

The game eventually reached the 12th inning, when Makoto Aduwa—who had already pitched the previous inning—remained on the mound as the eighth Hiroshima pitcher.

Arai said that using Aduwa for another inning had been planned in advance.

The loss was another painful one for a Carp bullpen that has been stretched thin by injuries and roster changes. However, Arai also stressed that the team needs to focus on the things it can control.

“Things we can do ourselves, we have to do properly,” he said, referring to fundamentals such as bunting, defense and baserunning.

For Hiroshima, the immediate results remain difficult. But with several young pitchers being asked to take on larger roles, the lessons from games like this could become important as the team looks toward the future.