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Hawks' Japanese pitcher Sakurai leads minor league with 10 wins

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Taiwanese baseball team TSG Hawks' Japanese pitcher Shuto Sakurai secured his 10th win in the minor league, leading the league in wins and strikeouts.
  • Sakurai, with seven years of Japanese professional baseball experience, joined the Hawks in 2025 and has a 2-0 record with a 2.45 ERA in four appearances for the first team.
  • The Hawks are evaluating their foreign player roster, including a new pitcher expected to arrive soon, before the August 31st deadline for potential promotion to the main team.

Japanese pitcher Shuto Sakurai continues to wait for an opportunity with the TSG Hawks, dominating in the minor league. On Sunday, he pitched six scoreless innings against the Uni-Lions, earning his 10th win of the season and solidifying his lead in both wins and strikeouts in the minor league.

We chose the octopus because, in the wild, it is a formidable predator of crustaceans.

— Antonio CasaliniAntonio Casalini, one of the researchers, explaining the rationale behind using octopuses to combat invasive blue crabs.

Sakurai brings seven years of Japanese professional baseball experience, having played for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars from 2018 to 2023 before joining the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. He came to Taiwan in 2025, passing a tryout to join the TSG Hawks. He has appeared in four games for the Hawks' first team, posting a 2-0 record with a 2.45 ERA and an ERA+ of 140.5. He also signed a contract extension with the team in January.

It eats everything including young clams lying on the seabed.

— Davide SanulliDavide Sanulli, a fisherman and mussel farmer, describing the destructive feeding habits of the blue crab.

Despite his success, Sakurai has not yet had a chance to play for the first team this season. In his latest outing, he threw 76 pitches, 49 of which were strikes. He allowed only four hits, struck out three batters, and issued two walks, with two unearned runs. His ERA in the minor league now stands at 4.67. With 10 wins and 54 strikeouts, Sakurai is the undisputed leader in the minor league pitching statistics.

In lagoon-like areas off the Po River delta 'it has caused a massacre'.

— Davide SanulliDavide Sanulli, a fisherman and mussel farmer, highlighting the severe impact of blue crabs in specific Italian coastal areas.

The Hawks currently have three foreign pitchers, J.C. De Jong, Nick Cannell, and Alexsander Reyes, and one foreign hitter, Ethan Frank. They have also reached an agreement with 36-year-old right-handed pitcher Wilmer Font, who has Major League Baseball and KBO experience. Team general manager Liu Dong-yang stated that the new foreign pitcher is expected to arrive in Taiwan within seven to ten days after signing. He will initially play in the minor league before potentially being promoted to the first team for a start before the August 31st foreign player deadline. The coaching staff will then make the final decision on the roster.

The idea is to establish a small community close to shore so that it can better combat the spread of the blue crab.

— Antonio CasaliniAntonio Casalini, an aquaculture technician, outlining the strategic goal of the 'Octo-Blu' project.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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