The JPBL veteran had a dominant rookie campaign with the DBacks"Whit

eFanposts Fanshots Sections Diamondbacks Farm TeamsGameday ThreadsDiamondbacks NewsDiamondbacks Game ReportsFang Food2018 Diamondbacks Player Reviews #6: Yoshihisa HiranoNew Willie Stargell Jersey ,8commentsThe JPBL veteran had a dominant rookie campaign with the DBacksfastball and a devastating splitter, which he distributed almost evenly,the 34 year old stepped right into a prominent role in the Diamondbacks bullpen.Entering most frequently in the 7th or 8th innings, often with men on base, Yoshi was both unflappable and fearless.While his fastball averaged a respectable 92 MPH, and is an effective pitch he can command on either side of the strike zone, his 84 MPH splitter was the show stopper.He had a 20% Whiff percentage on the pitch and fully 2/3 of balls in play off the splitter were hit on the ground. Knowing he could get a swing and a miss or a ground ball with the splitter at any time, he posted some really impressive numbers:14 GB DP in 55 chances, 25%.3rd highest %, (Min 40 IP) League avg is 11%1.95 WPA, 11th best out of 94 NL Relievers. (Min 40 IP)+8.4 Split Finger Pitch Value. 2nd best in MLB. Rather than clog up the post with a bunch of embedded videos that slow the page to a crawl, here is a link to the MLB.COM video search page where I simply typed in Hirano. There are a slew of Yoshi highlights there and they are fun to watch. Yoshi was by far the most consistent reliever in the DBacks bullpen in 2018. Through July 8th he appeared in 44 games http://www.piratesfanproshop.com/authentic-josh-bell-jersey , threw 39.1 IP and had a 1.36 ERA and a .557 OPS against. This included a scoreless June of 14 G, 12.1 IP. He had a rare blip on July 11th, getting lit for 4earned runs while retiring just 1 batter in a 19-2 loss in Colorado. However he immediately righted his ship, and from July 13 thru September 11,25 appearances, he had just a 1.21 ERA .In total, through September 11thhe had appeared in 70 Games, and thrown 62.1 IP with a 1.88 ERA and a .585 OPS against,allowing 2 or more earned runs just twice all year. With the season all but over, and most likely fatigued a bit after a heavy workload his first full season in the majors, Yoshi had a couple of poor outings on September 12th and 24th that drove his final season ERA up to 2.44,178 ERA+.As good as those number are Roberto Clemente Jersey , it’s easy to see how his season was even better than that. As mentioned at the beginning, Yoshi’s season was among the best of any Japanese reliever ever to debut in the United States. Below pic shows top 17 or so rookie seasons from Japanese born players. (Will show better on laptop than phone) TheOriginal Report Linkshows all 33 relievers born in Japan rookie years. After a wave of Japanese relievers from 2004-2007 there hadn’t been a season this good from Japan in over 10 years.The only caveat with Yoshi is that his 3.69 FIP as over a full run higher than his ERA. However as long as he has that splitter and can dial up a groundball or strikeout when he needs it most, I’m confident he can continue to beat that FIP. Think prime Brad Ziegler. As you can tell from this glowing review, Yoshi was one of my favorite DBacks in 2018. I loved his confidence and attitude from the get go. I enjoyed watching him interact with his teammates and showing off his wit and intelligence. One of the joys of the season was getting to know and make friends with some of the Japanese beat writers who worked out of Chase Field this year, specifically to follow Yoshi. Their obvious pride in their countryman was inspiring as well, and he didn’t let them down. I look forward to more great performances from Yoshi in 2019 and beyond. BOSTON (AP) — Chris Davis definitely kept the souvenir ball from this most elusive hit.Davis ended his record slump at 0 for 54 and drew applause from rival fans at Fenway Park, lining a single and two doubles while driving in four runs as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox 9-5 Saturday to stop a four-game losing streak.“That’s a long time without getting a hit,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with it, but obviously something special.”Davis broke into a smile when his bases-loaded, two-run single in the first inning broke the drought.“It meant a lot to me,” he said.He tried to make the most of his terrible stretch.“I said it a couple of weeks ago: ‘You have to embrace it at some point,'” he said.Davis walked to the plate in the first to what mostly appeared to be mock cheers when he was announced. But many of those quickly changed when he hit a liner over the head of second baseman Dustin Pedroia http://www.piratesfanproshop.com/authentic-josh-bell-jersey , ending the longest hitless streak ever by a position player.It was his first hit since Sept. 14 of last season.Once he safely reached first, Davis tipped his cap to the Orioles dugout and many of his teammates raised their arms and hollered in support. He smiled and made a motion that he wanted to ball, which he got.“Significant weight lifted off my shoulders,” he said later.Davis, a two-time major league home run champion, had been 0 for 33 this season.“The team did a rally around him a few minutes ago and a couple of guys said a couple of nice things,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. “We know how hard he’s been grinding. We know how hard it’s been on him. Our guys have been pulling for him big-time.”The 33-year-old Davis is in the fourth season of a $161 million, seven-year contract. The all-time record for a hitless streak by any player was an 0-for-85 drought by pitcher Bob Buhl in 1962-63.“It’s never easy. Baseball is a tough game when you’re struggling,” said Boston righty Rick Porcello, who gave up the hit. “He’s still showing up and playing hard every day, so I tip my hat to him for battling through what he’s battling through.”Davis lined an RBI double in the fifth that put the Orioles ahead 3-2. The Orioles broke it open four in the sixth, with Davis adding a run-scoring groundout.Christian Vázquez hit a two-run homer and drove in a career-best four runs for the World Series champion Red Sox Bill Mazeroski Jersey , who had won their last two games.Andrew Cashner (3-1) gave up three runs on three hits in five-plus innings. Porcello (0-3) pitched into the fifth.TRAINER’S ROOMOrioles: C Pedro Severino was in the lineup after having Friday off. He was hit in the head by a curveball from Oakland RHP J.B. Wendelken the day before.Red Sox: Manager Alex Cora said LHP Brian Johnson (left elbow inflammation) still hasn’t thrown and is just getting treatment. . Pedroia returned after getting Friday off as the club proceeds slowly after he missed all but three games last year due to a knee injury.STARTING WOESPorcello had allowed 16 runs — 11 earned — over 7 1/3 total innings in his first two starts. He gave up three in four-plus innings Saturday.“He’s healthy. He’s good. Everything is good,” Cora said. “It’s just not working right now for him. He’s erratic in the zone.”The top four Red Sox starters: Chris Sale, David Price, Nathan Eovaldi and Porcello fell to 0-7 with an 8.43 ERA.SLOPPY, SLOPPYBoston RHP Marcus Walden and 1B Steve Pearce both committed an error in the same inning. Third baseman Rafael Devers also bobbled a grounder, but threw Dwight Smith Jr. out at second after he rounded too far.UP NEXTOrioles: LHP John Means (1-1, 2.08 ERA) is set to start Sunday.Red Sox: LHP Price (0-1, 6.00) is slated to make his home debut.__