Despite the amount of ink spilled trying to determine whether Seibu Lions pitcher Yusei Kikuchi was actually guilty of the illegal two-stage pitching motion he was cited for on Thursday night, it's more important to note the way he handled the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.
Kikuchi held the Pacific League's second-place team to no runs and two hits while striking out seven in a shutout victory in which he both lived up to his billing as the team ace and bolstered his candidacy for the Sawamura Award.
At 12-5 with a 1.93 ERA and 165 strikeouts in 144⅔ innings, Kikuchi might be the favorite for the award at this point in most other seasons.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.