World Baseball Classic winner Shosei Togo pitched the 101st no-hitter in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as the Yomiuri Giants beat the Hanshin Tigers at Koshien Stadium, near Osaka.
Togo issued a leadoff walk in the ninth and faced a runner on second after a sacrifice bunt. But he got Koji Chikamoto to line out to first and struck out 2023 World Baseball Classic teammate Takumu Nakano for the final out of the 2-hour, 58-minute game.
He used 123 pitches to complete the nine innings and struckout five.
"It feels great now after being relieved of that pressure," Togo told the Kyodo news agency. "I'll give this no-hitter ball to my parents."
It was the first NPB no-hitter since Olympic gold medallist Yoshinobu Yamamoto, now with the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB), threw his second for the Oryx Buffaloes against the Chiba Lotte Marines on September 9 2023. Yamamoto, who helped Japan win the WBSC Premier12 2019, pitched his first no-hitter in the 2022 season.
Togo, a 24-year-old right-hander, made his NPB debut in 2019. He is a three-time All-Star.
