NPB Ace Roki Sasaki Loses 17-Inning Perfect Streak

The Japanese phenom allowed a hit to the first batter he faced on Sunday.

Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki’s consecutive batters retired streak came to an end Sunday when he allowed a hit on the first pitch he threw to the Orix Buffaloes. Sasaki’s perfect inning streak is officially 17 innings, which is 52 total batters retired.

Buffaloes’s hitter Shuhei Fukuda hit the first pitch of the game vs. Sasaki for a single to right field.

Rōki Sasaki had pitched 17 consecutive PERFECT INNINGS & retired an incredible 52 batters in a row! 🔥

He gave up a hit with the first pitch of his start today... pic.twitter.com/8tJrdwcfJs

— Baseball Brit (@BaseballBrit) April 24, 2022

This streak is the record for consecutive batters retired in NPB, and it is also longer than any of such streak in MLB history.

The 20-year-old phenom threw a perfect game two weeks ago, the first in NPB in 28 years. Then last week, Sasaki continued that streak with eight more perfect innings, but he was pulled at 103 pitches in a 0-0 game. Those two innings, combined with one retired batter from the start before the perfect game, compiled the largest perfect-innings streak in NPB history.

In those 17 innings, the right-hander struck out 33 batters, more than half of the hitters he retired.

Compared to his previous two start’s, Sasaki had a tame outing on Sunday. He threw five innings, striking out four and allowing two runs on six hits, three walks and two hit batsmen. The Chiba Lotte Marines still defeated the Buffaloes 6-3.

Sasaki’s ERA currently sits at 1.16 on the young NPB season, with 56 strikeouts in 31 innings.

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