The 7 Second Game

From the time the umpire called "Play ball!" to the time that Nippon Ham's Ide ripped Kohmura's (Kintetsu) first pitch over the center field fence at Osaka Dome, all of 7 seconds had passed.  As it turned out, that one pitch was the difference in the game.This marked the 5th time in Pro Yakyu history that the first batter of a game hit the game deciding home run.  It was last done by Seibu's Ohtomo on August 14, 1999.

But, ... this was the first time that the very first pitch decided the game.  Here are the five 1-0 games decided by the first batter, with pitch counts (courtesy of Nikkan Sports):

Date	Player	Team	vs.	S-B
1959.04.15	Machida	Kokutetsu	Hanshin	1-3
1969.05.29	Shigematsu	Taiyo	Chunichi	1-1
1976.09.22	Fujiwara	Nankai	Lotte	2-1
1999.08.14	Ohtomo	Seibu	Nippon Ham	2-2
2001.05.01	Ide	Nippon Ham	Kintetsu	0-0

One has a far better chance at hitting for the cycle!

After that one pitch, though, Kohmura settled down and pitched a gem, allowing just that one run on 5 hits, 2 walks, while striking out 4.  He pitched the complete game to improve his ERA to 4.01, but the loss drops him to 0 and 3 in 5 appearances.  He allowed a base runner to reach second base in the 5th (base hit and sacrifice to lead off the inning) and 9th (1-out double), but that was it.  If only he could have that first pitch back...

But for Nippon Ham, Kanemura shouldn't be over-looked.  He pitched exceptionally well, allowing just 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out 5 in 8 innings of work.  Mirabal closed the game for the Hamsters, earning his 7th save in 14 appearances.

Other than that first pitch, it was a beatiful pitchers' duel.