Pacific League Orix 1-10 Softbank (14 September 2024 Kyocera D)

Orix Manager Nakajima on Castillo’s Performance

Orix manager Nakajima, who has suffered four consecutive losses, said: “He played perfectly until the third inning, but from the fourth inning on he started playing like a ball.” Castillo, the starting pitcher, retired. After giving up six runs in the fifth inning, I turned my head.

Castillo pitched perfectly through the 3rd inning, but with two outs and second base in the 4th, he gave Yamakawa a timely hit to left field. In the 5th inning, with the bases loaded, Kurihara gave up a timely double to blow out the runners, giving up 6 hits and giving up 5 runs.

Impact of Injuries on the Team

Wakatsuki was written off that day due to special measures for a concussion, and along with Mori, who was off the roster on the 4th due to a left rotator cuff injury, the team lost two key receivers. Fukunaga, a third-year player promoted that day, donned the starting mask for the second time this season after the game against Yakult on June 15.

Manager Nakajima said, “I could see him throwing pitches without much regard for the distribution of the pitches. He would get the catcher to sign autographs and then just throw them. I guess you could say he was a little bland, and he (Fukunaga) must have been thinking about a lot of things, but it seemed like everything was written off, so I felt sorry for him,” the right-hander said.