Masato Morishita Takes 10th Loss as Carp Fall 3-1 to Giants Despite Strong Finish

The Hiroshima Carp fell 3-1 to the Yomiuri Giants at Mazda Stadium on September 4, with defensive mistakes and a lack of timely hitting proving costly.

The loss also widened Hiroshima's deficit behind the third-place Yokohama DeNA BayStars to 4.5 games, as DeNA did not play on Friday.

Morishita, 29, started for Hiroshima and ran into trouble immediately. After a rain delay, the Giants opened the game with three consecutive hits, allowing Yomiuri to take an early lead.

The right-hander then faced an even bigger threat with the bases loaded and nobody out, but managed to escape without allowing another run.

In the third inning, however, a defensive mistake gave the Giants another opportunity. With two outs and a runner on first, a ball was hit toward right-center field. Center fielder Minoru Omori relayed the ball to second baseman Ryosuke Kikuchi, who sent it toward home.

First baseman Elehuris Montero cut off the throw but then made an errant throw toward third base. The mistake allowed the runner to score, and the batter also came all the way around to score.

Despite being let down by the defense, Morishita settled down and did not allow another hit after the third inning. He finished with six innings, four hits and three runs allowed, although only two were charged as earned runs.

With little offensive support, the defeat gave Morishita his 10th loss of the season. It marked the third consecutive year in which he has reached double-digit losses.

Rather than blaming the defense, Morishita took responsibility for his own performance.

“I think it's going to be difficult unless I can put together a game by keeping the opponent at zero.”

The Carp's offense also missed a major opportunity in the first inning. Newly recalled outfielder Shosei Nakamura led off with a triple into the left-center gap, putting a runner on third with nobody out.

However, the next three batters struck out in succession, leaving Nakamura stranded.

Omori, who batted second, admitted afterward that he overthought the situation.

“It was a situation where just putting the ball in play could have done something, but I thought about it too much.”

Hiroshima continued to struggle against Giants starter Takemaru, managing just one run in the seventh inning against reliever Hotta.

Manager Takahiro Arai said Takemaru's slider was particularly difficult for the Carp hitters to handle because of its unusual movement.

“His slider is unique. It moves horizontally almost like a cutter, so it's difficult to distinguish it from his fastball.”

Arai expects Takemaru to face Hiroshima again later in the season and said he hopes his hitters will find a way to adjust.

“I think he'll pitch against us again in the remaining games, so I'm looking forward to seeing how our hitters respond.”

Despite the loss, Nakamura's immediate impact after returning to the first team was one of the few positives. Starting in center field and batting leadoff, he tripled in his first at-bat.

“I think I got off to a good start. They gave me the opportunity to bat first, so I wanted to do everything I could to live up to their expectations.”