To use this site, please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page.
This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies.
Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
The Yomiuri Shimbun Yomiuri Giants starter Masahiro Tanaka lets out a roar after getting out of a fifth-inning jam against the Chunichi Dragons on Thursday night in Nagoya.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
13:46 JST, April 4, 2025
NAGOYA — Masahiro Tanaka looked in sharply as the catcher put down the signal. With one out and runners on second and third in the fifth inning, he needed to get out of the jam to become the pitcher of record and earn his first win in 586 days.
After taking a few deep breaths, he went into his wind-up and fired a 149-kph fastball, his fastest pitch of the night.
“All I could do was give it everything I had,” Tanaka would say after earning the win in the Yomiuri Giants’ 5-3 victory over the Chunichi Dragons on Thursday night at Nagoya’s Vantelin Dome.
Tanaka would walk that batter, Seiji Uebayashi, but got Seiya Hosokawa to follow by hitting an outside slider to third base for an inning-ending double play that preserved the Giants’ 4-1 lead. He let out a roar of jubilation that seemed to expel his recent frustrations.
Tanaka, who in 2021 had returned to his original team, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, after seven years in the major leagues, finished last season without a victory for the first time since turning pro out of high school in 2007. To start anew in a new environment, he made the move to the Giants.
Taking advice from roving pitching coach Yasuo Kubo and others, Tanaka made adjustments to his form, mainly on the rotation of his body while throwing, all the while aiming to become part of the starting rotation. “I wasn’t in a position to take time,” Tanaka said.
At 36, Tanaka knows he is no longer the same player who had arguably the greatest season by a pitcher in Japan pro baseball history, when he went 24-0 in 2013 and could mow down batters at will. But the veteran’s techniques had not diminished.
“[Nowadays], it’s alright if they hit more grounders,” Tanaka said. “If I do my job, I’ll get them to hit [the ball] to our fielders.”
That’s just how it went on Thursday. He got into an early jam in the first inning, but got clean-up hitter Takaya Ishikawa to hit into a double play. In the end, the Tanaka of 2025 struck out just one batter over five innings, but still limited the Dragons to five hits and one earned run.
The 96-pitch outing in his first start for the Giants gives Tanaka 198 combined wins in Japan and the major leagues, leaving him two from the cherished milestone of 200. Five relievers finished up the victory, and closer Raidel Martinez presented Tanaka with the winning ball.
“This [win] is incredibly special,” Tanaka said. “I’m really happy that I could get this win with so many thoughts going through my mind.”
