○Orix 4-1 Seibu● (23rd, Kyocera Dome Osaka)

Orix’s right-handed pitcher, Seiryu Furutajima, has been feeling restless for the past week. “I wanted to pitch soon.” Since his debut on April 6th, he has accumulated 21 scoreless games as a relief pitcher up until the 15th of this month. Even the strong-hearted rookie couldn’t contain his excitement.

However, his composure during the game was impressive. When Seibu was told to pinch-hitter right-handed in the eighth inning with two outs, he said, “I was ready,” and headed to the mound. Furutajima grounded out to the pitcher with a cut ball, and finished his job in five pitches. He has now reached the professional baseball record of 22 consecutive scoreless games since his first appearance, matching Ryosuke Kuribayashi (Hiroshima) in 2021 and Satoshi Miyamori (Rakuten) in 2022. “I’m so happy,” he said, clasping his fist.

After graduating from Toride Shoyo High School in Ibaraki and working at Chuo Gakuin University and Nippon Express, he joined the team as the sixth pick in the draft. His fastball is over 150 km/h, but he laughs and says, “I’m not confident about my control.” His strength is knowing himself. “When things aren’t going well, I get scared and go too carefully. When it’s time to be bold, I make a bold decision.” His bold swing of the arm and fastball-pushing pitching led to his great achievement.

On April 30th, his first child, a daughter, was born. “My wife is working really hard. I can’t do housework or childcare, so I just have to work hard at baseball.” The presence of his family also supported his record.[Ishikawa Yuji]