Last week’s MVP honors went to pitcher Hiroto Saiki and infielder Teruaki Sato, who delivered standout performances on Mother’s Day. Saiki tossed seven scoreless innings to earn his fourth win, while Sato hit a league-fastest 10th home run, maintaining a .333 batting average on Mother’s Day. “Winning on a day like this is significant,” Saiki said with a shy smile. Sato dedicated his homer to his mother: “Thank you always, Mom.”
This week, the Tigers face a crucial two-game series against the top-ranked Yakult Swallows on May 12 and 13. Two consecutive wins would reclaim the top spot. In their previous meeting, Hanshin won the series 2-1 on the road. Left-handed ace Haruto Takahashi has started five games this season, recording four complete-game shutouts. He is currently on a streak of three straight shutouts; a fourth would mark the first such feat since Kunio Shirono of the Yomiuri Giants in 1965, a 61-year milestone. All eyes will be on the unstoppable lefty to see how long he can extend his scoreless innings.
In roster moves, pitchers Keito Monbetsu and Taiki Hayakawa were removed from the active roster after failing to deliver results in their first starts of the season on May 4-5 against Chunichi. Meanwhile, pitchers Seishu Hatake and Takeshi Shiiba, along with infielder
