After losing their previous two games against the Chunichi Dragons, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters needed a win Sunday to ensure they would finish their interleague slate with at least a .500 record. They won 3-2, largely because Shohei Otani rode to the rescue, striking out 12 over eight shutout innings on the mound and recording a hit and drawing two walks at the plate.
That the game was in Nagoya Dome, a Central League park where the designated hitter rule is not in effect, was hardly a disadvantage for the Pacific League's Fighters. Manager Hideki Kuriyama batted Otani fifth in his lineup, far from the normal spot at the bottom pitchers, especially Pacific League hurlers, usually occupy when forced to hit.
Hitting and pitching in the same game has been the norm for Otani for the past few weeks — the Fighters have even waived the DH rule a few times to keep him in the lineup. Now that interleague play is over, Kuriyama faces a dilemma every professional manager, in or outside of Japan, would probably love to have: Does he scale back Otani's at-bats to "normal" levels, or continue to play without a DH when the ace is on the mound.