The ironic thing about the Seibu Lions blowing up the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' "opener" strategy — in such a magnificent explosion of hits and runs on Saturday it might close the book on the opener — is that Fighters starter Takayuki Kato, the "opener," actually did his job well.
The left-hander got things going for Nippon Ham by holding the mighty Seibu lineup scoreless for two innings. Then, to the surprise of some, he was pulled from the game after 31 pitches. He then watched from the safety of the dugout as Seibu put up 16 runs against the players who followed him to the mound.
The sudden pitching change didn't flummox the Lions in the least. If anything, they seemed bemused by the whole thing.