If circumstances conspire to make this Tsuyoshi Wada's last start in a Fukuoka Softbank Hawks uniform, he'll leave with mixed feelings.
One one hand, Wada can hold his head high. He was at his best for much of Game 1 of the Japan Series on Saturday. The Chunichi Dragons were swinging away, but the majority of Wada's pitches were still finding catcher Toru Hosokawa's glove.
Six of his first nine outs were via strikeout, and when the Dragons showed some patience and drew a couple of walks, he still held them scoreless.