For the past several weeks, Pacific League hitters have lived a blissful Shohei Otani-free existence. Forget the strikeouts, the 160 kph-plus fastballs and the array of knee-buckling breaking pitches. Since early July, Otani has been one of them, focused on hitting pitches instead of throwing them.
No longer. Well, more accurately, just not as much.
With the Fighters one game behind the two-time defending Pacific League champion Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks with 19 games left (SoftBank has 20), manager Hideki Kuriyama is preparing to play his trump card.