Kai Ueda didn't have much time to get ready for what might've been the biggest moment of his career. Edwin Escobar had just located a 153-kph fastball into Shun Takayama's hip and someone needed to run the bases during the top of the eighth inning in Game 3 of the Central League Climax Series First Stage on Monday.
So Ueda suddenly became the next man up, and he played his role perfectly.
The Hanshin Tigers pinch runner stole second on Escobar's first pitch to Ryutaro Umeno, went to third on a wild pitch and then scored the run that would send the Tigers to the final stage of the CLCS on a sacrifice fly.
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.