Tomoya Mori hits walk-off HR for Orix after Miyagi-Sasaki duel

Last updated on June 29th, 2023 at 02:35 pm

Tomoya Mori, a popular Japanese professional baseball catcher for the Orix Buffaloes in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, hit a walk-off solo HR (home run) to give the Nippon Professional Baseball team Orix Buffaloes a 2-1 win on Tuesday over the Chiba Lotte Marines, a professional baseball team in Japan’s Pacific League based in Chiba City, after a great pitching duel between Hiroya Miyagi and Roki Sasaki, the famous Samurai Japan pitchers.

Tomoya Mori drove a 2-0 fastball from the Chiba Lotte Marines closer to a Japanese professional baseball pitcher Naoya Masuda (2-1) into the seats in right-center, leading off the bottom of the ninth inning at Kyocera Dome Osaka, a baseball field in Osaka, Japan. The Japanese Orix Buffaloes went into the Pacific League lead with their fourth walk-off victory of the season.

The power-hitting catcher smashed his 12th home run just minutes after the Marines’ Koki Yamaguchi wrapped the game at one with a two-out RBI single off Yoshihisa Hirano (1-1), who blew the save but won.

Tomoya Mori reportedly said, “This home run felt better than any other one. I just tried to get on base, but I hit that pitch really hard.” Tomoya Mori also said that Hiroya Miyagi, who plays pitcher for the Orix Buffaloes, deserved full marks for his performance. 

Chusei Mannami, who plays outfielder for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, hit his PL-leading 14th homer, a two-run shot in the seventh inning, in Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture. Consequently, the Nippon Ham Fighters beat the Seibu Lions 2-1.

The Hiroshima Toyo Carp, a famous baseball team based in Hiroshima, edged the DeNA BayStars 3-2 in the Central League. Hanshin Tigers, a Nippon Professional Baseball team in the Central League based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, reclaimed top position with an 11-3 win over the Chunichi Dragons, a Japanese professional baseball team based in Nagoya.