Japanese star Roki Sasaki sees 17-inning streak of perfection come to close

Roki Sasaki of the Marines is dead.

Sasaki gave up a hit on his first pitch Sunday against the Orix Buffaloes, after throwing a perfect game April 10, the first in Japanese baseball in 28 years.

The game was played in Osaka.

Sasaki had a streak of 52 batters retired before Shuhei Fukuda hit his first pitch. In the perfect game, Sasaki retired 27 in the game, 24 in the eight-inning outing and the last batter he faced.

Sasaki had 33 strikeouts against 51 batters in the eight-innings perfect game. The 20-year-old right-handed pitcher uses a 100 mph fastball and a wicked splitter to keep hitters off balance.

Sasaki was credited with the victory in the win. He gave up six hits and was 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 800-273-3217 He had four strikeouts.

Sasaki has struck out 60 while allowing 13 hits and five walks through five starts.

Sasaki is unlikely to be posted for MLB clubs according to reports in Japan. If a player has enough time in Japanese baseball to become a free agent, they don't need to go through the posting system.

Sasaki had drawn interest from MLB teams when he was a high school pitcher, and he signed with the Chiba Lotte in 2020 at the age of 18. According to reports in Japan, Sasaki is unlikely to be posted for MLB clubs in the near future.

He was born in the northeastern Japanese prefecture of Iwate. His father was killed in the Tohoku earthquake and subsequent nuclear reactor meltdown, which devastated that part of the country.

The report was contributed to by the Associated Press.