Hanshin Beats DeNA, Drops Them to 3rd Straight Loss — 5ch: ‘No Central League Batter Can Hit 161 km/h’

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Hanshin beat DeNA 5-3 in their August 23 matchup, dropping DeNA to a third straight loss.

Closer Kudo’s pitch speed reaching 161-163 km/h (about 100-101 mph) became a huge talking point on 5ch, with comments pouring in like “batters have never seen speed like that.” After the game, debate also heated up over the bullpen management and how Yuasa and Iwasaki were used.

Hanshin 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 5 |5

DeNA 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 |3

[Battery]

Source: nikkansports.com / Original article here

8Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 21:40:41.07ID:W6lCJkea0
>>1
Who even is Kudo? That pitch speed is ridiculous, LOL
That's basically radar-gun-breaking speed.
101Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:04:11.89ID:eXms+csP0
>>8

https://ul.h3z.jp/67AFLGX7.jpg
15Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 21:41:36.78ID:UMoQLy480
161 km/h? No Central League batter can hit that.
21Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 21:42:40.15ID:W6lCJkea0
>>15
No way anyone hits that.
Even by batters' own accounts, that's a speed they've never seen before.
27Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 21:43:03.98ID:eXms+csP0
31Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 21:43:55.65ID:Va1r9VZs9
>>1
Top of the 9th, 2 outs.

Pitchers of record
Winning pitcher: Hanshin's Iwasaki (3-3, 11 SV)
Losing pitcher: DeNA's Reynolds (3-1, 10 SV)
Save: Hanshin's Kudo (3-0, 4 SV)
134Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:17:39.29ID:JTH1Mmb40
>>31
Rare to see them own up to a mistake.
39Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 21:45:23.05ID:6YPwIAZd0
It's been ages since Hanshin was actually weak, but losing to them still pisses me off.
131Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:16:31.27ID:v81SpzdR0
>>39
Quit making excuses and go take a bath.
49Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 21:46:54.54ID:0kw+P07l0
Hanshin's middle relief — Kinoshita, Oikawa, Yuasa — is rough right now.
67Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 21:53:17.67ID:JTH1Mmb40
>>49
Kinoshita's about what you'd expect — he's always had a high batting average against and just barely holds it together.
Oikawa's about what you'd expect too, he's nowhere near full form yet.
Yuasa's about what you'd expect, and so is Zaki.
Pretty much matches their stats.
57Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 21:49:13.46ID:YlyINs9a0
Glad we won, but I really can't get behind giving Iwasaki the win —
feel bad for Haruto, LOL ("kawauso," net slang punning on kawaisou, "poor guy")
74Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 21:55:25.73ID:BhnBgby30
>>57
Take your complaints to Fujikawa for using Yuasa.
60Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 21:49:36.20ID:CuQldOh40
Kyuji's awful bullpen calls in the 8th nearly cost us the game.
Pinch hitter Kina, LOL — one-run game and he brings in Yuasa, LOL, Iwasaki, LOL
123Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:12:48.75ID:hvgvKm8F0
>>60
In that spot, was there anyone besides pinch hitter Kina?
I figured it'd be either Fukushima or Kina.
Before you criticize the strategy — there's no bench depth to pinch hit with…
63Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 21:51:28.94ID:xjHShueS0
Can't be helped since Takahashi had an accident today, but
I really do want starters to go at least 6 innings.
With only 5, you're forced to walk a tightrope.
Tonight's bottom of the 8th was exactly that.
83Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 21:57:12.47ID:FYOTG+C90
>>63
He was watching from the bench afterward, so it probably wasn't a serious injury.
In that case, I wish he'd volunteered to push through to the 6th.
Also, he'd better pitch next Sunday against the Giants, LOL
He's already on a protected rotation as it is, and this is a make-or-break stretch for the team.
69Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 21:54:05.99ID:mKgw7tsX0
Image
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HQZoUBPbQAEc-rJ?format=jpg

Video
https://x.com/xqx2026/status/2091487722846478413

That collision play was scary.
If it had gone wrong, it could've been a serious neck injury.
70Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 21:54:08.71ID:nRpqZP8A0
Kudo came up through the developmental draft (ikusei), right?
Makes you wonder if no other team had their eye on him.
102Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:04:14.76ID:JTH1Mmb40
>>70
In his rookie year he topped out at 159 km/h but had terrible control.
This year he's at 163 — insane improvement in just one year.
106Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:06:21.19ID:CuQldOh40
Honestly, Yuasa's more to blame than Iwasaki here.
And Fujikawa's more to blame than Yuasa.
108Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:07:30.94ID:JTH1Mmb40
>>106
If a former catcher works for you, there's a great skipper named Nakatani.
107Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:07:10.09ID:dWVlo7dS0
It hasn't even been a full season yet, but honestly, hasn't Kudo already surpassed Ishii Daichi?
118Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:11:03.00ID:yS19+PUo0
>>107
Embarrassing take, niwaka (bandwagon/casual fan).
110Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:08:57.30ID:sex707jO0
If he had a good breaking ball that drops,
Kudo would be the closer.
122Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:12:18.79ID:eXms+csP0
>>110
Nah, he throws his forkball a ton —
about 1 in every 4 pitches.
And his batting-average-against and strikeout numbers are incredible.
113Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:10:11.93ID:gHI53sYE0
They scored 5 runs in the final inning and it still ended 5-3?
121Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:12:13.05ID:bKN3pEtZ0
Pitcher usage is also shaped by front-office policy, so blaming the manager alone isn't fair.
There are cases where it's not that he wants to use them that way.
127Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:15:13.62ID:zwYCk6Q00
>>121
If it were Aikawa, maybe, but Fujikawa seems to hold full authority.
132Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:16:53.56ID:/8o4RGue0
Is there anyone lined up to succeed Fujikawa?
Whatever happens, I figure he'll step down next year once Satoteru (Sato Teruaki) is gone.
135Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:19:39.22ID:JTH1Mmb40
>>132
Honestly I kind of think Nakatani would be fine for real.
142Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:23:12.88ID:2QNoH4750
>>132
Doesn't seem like he'd drag it out, and even if he did, resting core players leads to bad results — so next year's a clean cutoff point.
137Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:20:11.22ID:G/BOc4ps0
Kinoshita – Jingu – Kudo – Doris — if Ishii comes back and slots in here, sticking Yuasa or Iwasaki in between will just look like a weak pitcher the other team can hit.
160Anonymous2026/08/23(日) 22:28:57.14ID:JTH1Mmb40
>>137
That's all righties though.
Severino's been great in August — 5 strikeouts, 0 walks, 1 run allowed, 0.75 WHIP over 4 games — but Fujikawa seems to have it in for him, because he barely gets used.

*This article is an excerpt/summary based on the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Baseball] Central League DB 3-5 T [8/23] Hanshin’s winning streak continues, Morishita’s go-ahead RBI hit (4-for-4, 2 RBI), Sato Teruaki 4 hits, DeNA strands 11, 3rd straight loss.”

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