The star-studded Yomiuri Giants have one of the hottest hitters around these days. Akihiro Yuto (20), a right-handed-hitting third-year high school outfielder, swings for the fences in center field. The virtual rookie, who appeared in one game last year, leads the Yomiuri offense along with Kazuma Okamoto (26), the Central League’s home run leader.
Against the Junichi Dragons at the Tokyo Dome on the 30th. Akihiro, who started in the No. 5 spot in left field, hit an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning.
With runners on first and second, Junichi right-hander Tatsuya Shimizu walked No. 4 Okamoto on a wild pitch to load the bases for Akihiro. A wild pitch put runners on second and third. Akihiro took a low, outside forkball from Shimizu at 1B and lined it to right field. The game-winning hit broke the 0-0 tie.
After Akihiro’s single set the tone, Yomiuri scored two more runs to win 4-0. They swept a three-game weekend series with Chunichi and won four straight. Akihiro, who singled to right in the bottom of the sixth inning, went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.
He had the game-winning RBI in the previous day’s game on a grounder to shortstop in the bottom of the first inning. He is the first player in his third year of high school to hit a game-winning RBI in two consecutive games in 14 years since Hayato Sakamoto in 2009. Akihiro has been batting third and fifth with Okamoto at fourth.
Akihiro, who was limited to the second team last year, had a hot July. He had six home runs and 15 RBIs in the month. He had more home runs and RBIs than Okamoto on the team.
The 5th pick in the 2021 draft. Two things stand out. First, he’s tall, over 2 meters. Akihiro wears the number 55 of Yomiuri “Legend” Hideki Matsui. Akihiro is expected to be a long hitter with great clutch ability. Yomiuri manager Tatsunori Hara said of Akihiro, “He is growing as a player, using each game as a valuable form.”바카라
He is praised for his good bat control and soft body.
He appeared in one game in his first year in 2021. One at-bat, no hits. Last season, he gained experience with the second team. He showed promise in a team-high 109 games, hitting .275 with nine home runs.
In 73 games this season, Akihiro is hitting .264 (78-for-78) with 10 home runs, 34 RBIs, and a 4.7 OPS. He is fifth in the Central League in batting, tied for 12th in home runs and tied for 14th in RBI. His on-base percentage is the best on the team. In his last six games, he has six hits and six RBIs.