Shoki Murakami (27) of the Hanshin Tigers in Japan's professional baseball took the mound as a starting pitcher in the opening game. He missed a shutout victory by one out but led the team to a scoreless win.

On the 28th, Murakami started in the season opener against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, recording a scoreless victory with 8⅔ innings, 4 hits, 1 walk, and 7 strikeouts.

After finishing the first inning cleanly with a three-up, three-down, Murakami struck out the top of the Hiroshima lineup, consisting of Eleuris Montero, Shogo Akiyama, and Sandro Fabian, in the second inning. In the third inning, he allowed a double to leadoff hitter Ryosuke Kikuchi and found himself in a one-out, runners on third and first situation after Masato Morishita's sacrifice bunt. However, he escaped the jam by getting Tsubasa Aizawa to ground out to second and striking out Shoichi Futamata.

Murakami gave up a hit to leadoff hitter Masaya Yano in the fourth inning but did not allow any runs. He continued his three-up, three-down streak in the fifth and sixth innings. In the seventh inning with two outs, he allowed a hit to Akiyama but ended the inning easily by getting Fabian out.

After completing the eighth inning with a three-up, three-down, Murakami returned to the mound in the ninth inning while the Hanshin Tigers were leading 4-0. He recorded an out against Futamata with a pop-up to second base but gave up a walk to Yano and a hit to Kaito Kozono, putting himself in danger with one out and runners on first and third. After getting Montero to pop out to the second baseman, Murakami handed the mound over to Suguru Iwazaki, leaving one out away from a shutout victory. Iwazaki struck out Akiyama to finish the game.

Japanese media Nikkan Sports noted, "Hanshin Tigers starting pitcher Shoki Murakami made his debut as a starting pitcher in an opening game and showcased excellent pitching with no runs allowed through the ninth inning," highlighting Murakami's stellar performance. After being replaced with one out left for a shutout victory, Murakami expressed, "I wanted to pitch until the end, so I feel I didn't finish properly. Next time, I will make sure I can do it until the end."

In 2023, Hanshin won the Japan Series for the first time in 38 years, finishing last season with a record of 74 wins, 6 ties, and 63 losses, achieving a winning percentage of .540 to end the season in second place in the Central League. This year, they raised expectations by defeating the Chicago Cubs (3-0) and Los Angeles Dodgers (3-0) in exhibition games held in Japan.

Particularly, Hiroto Saiki, who fully shut down the Dodgers lineup filled with MVP-caliber sluggers like Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman, generated significant buzz. Saiki recorded a scoreless victory with 5 innings, 1 hit, 1 walk, and 7 strikeouts, leaving a strong impression. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts remarked, "The pitch is major league quality. The velocity is good, and the splitter was great."

However, instead of starting pitcher Murakami, who did not receive attention from Major League Baseball, Hanshin opted to start with Murakami. Until last season, he recorded a total of 49 games (303⅓ innings) with 17 wins, 18 losses, and 1 hold, holding an earned run average of 2.43. In 2023, he won 10 games, lost 6, and had a holding earned run average of 1.75 over 22 games (144⅓ innings), leading Hanshin to a Japan Series victory, and became the third player in NPB history to win both the league MVP and Rookie of the Year awards. Last season, he recorded 7 wins and 11 losses with an earned run average of 2.58 over 25 games (153⅔ innings).

Murakami, who took on the crucial role of starting pitcher in the opening game, showcased overwhelming pitching by continuing a scoreless streak through the ninth inning, proving why he was chosen as the opening game starter. With a positive start to the season, fans have high expectations for what Murakami will show for the rest of the season.

[OSEN]