The youngest player on the team had the ball in his hands for the most important game of the year for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.
But if the enormity of the situation ever affected Katsuki Akagawa, he never let it show.
Pitching in just his 26th professional game, Akagawa threw 6⅔ innings of shutout ball, and the Swallows provided just enough offense in a 3-1 win over the Yomiuri Giants in Game 3 of the Central League Climax Series first stage on Monday night at Jingu Stadium. The win gives the Swallows a 2-1 victory in the series.