Hanshin vs Chunichi (26th, Koshien)

The player who is scary just by being there actually hit a ball. Hanshin’s No. 6 Teruaki Sato hit a timely triple for his first RBI since returning to the first team.

In the fourth inning, with two outs, No. 5 Ukyo Maekawa reached base with a single to right field and was up to bat. It was the first pitch from Chunichi’s right-hander Hideaki Wakui. The curveball came closer to Sato’s body than the outside corner where catcher Shingo Usami was holding his mitt, and Sato picked it up with his right hand as if to put it on the bat. It was a swing unique to Sato. As he himself said, “It felt good when I hit it, so I’m disappointed that it wasn’t a home run,” it was a hit that seemed like it would be a home run, but it hit the right field fence and became a timely triple. It was his first RBI since being re-registered to the first team on June 7th.

On May 14th, in the final minutes of a loss against Chunichi, he made a fatal error on third base that decided the game, and was sent to the second team. At this point, his batting average was a dismal .29. Meanwhile, in the first team, his chronic poor hitting continued. Sato’s long-range hitting ability makes him a nuisance for opposing pitchers. He returned to the first team in three weeks, and got the long-awaited RBI required for his role. His 18th RBI in 70 games, which is about half of the regular season games, is not enough, but could it be a catalyst for an improvement in his form?[Ogino Koichi]