“Geek” Trevor Bauer (32, Yokohama DeNA BayStars) got his first win in over a month. The right-hander pitched eight innings of three-hit ball (two homers), struck out 10 and walked three in an interleague home game against the 2023 Nippon Professional Baseball Seibu Lions at Yokohama Stadium in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, on Wednesday to improve to 2-2 on the season.
Bauer signed a one-year, $4 million deal to play in Nippon Professional Baseball, but after the assault, no major league team was interested in him anymore. He picked up his first win on May 3 against the Hiroshima Toyokafe, allowing one run on seven hits (one home run) in seven innings, striking out nine and walking one, and followed it up with two wins in exactly one month.
In the meantime, he struggled to adjust to life in Japan and was sent to the second team. He knows firsthand the level of competition in Japanese baseball. It was a shaky start to the day. In the first inning, he walked two batters in a row and couldn’t get a hit. He struck out the next two batters before giving up a solo shot to left field to Shuta Tonozaki in the fourth inning.
He then retired the next five and six batters before giving up a single in the seventh. In the eighth, he gave up a solo shot to pinch-hitter Sota 안전놀이터 Hiranuma. He threw 109 pitches through the eighth inning, making it difficult for him to take the mound in the ninth. Yokohama won 6-2, giving him his second win of the season.
However, it’s hard to see Bauer being held to ransom. His season ERA is 5.59. In particular, in five games, he pitched 29 innings and gave up nine earned runs. He hasn’t missed a game and has been hit by a home run. However, he was pleased with his second straight quality start, following his May 27 start against the Junichi Dragons (six innings, seven hits, two home runs, seven strikeouts, two runs allowed).
Meanwhile, Bauer continued his trademark fan interaction after his first win on May 3, posting plans for a “glove reverse” on his Twitter account, but that didn’t happen today. While Japanese fans have welcomed Bauer’s active communication, they are also disappointed with his lackluster performance.
