Hideaki Wakui gave himself a passing grade following his start against the Yomiuri Giants on Sunday, the final scheduled day of preseason games in Japanese baseball.
Wakui allowed a pair of runs over five innings in the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles' victory. Despite a shaky finish and the two runs he gave up, Wakui was pleased with the way his change-up played against the Yomiuri lineup, which at the beginning of the afternoon featured most of the Central League's champion's biggest stars.
Wakui is one of the new members of the Eagles' starting rotation whose year may determine whether there will be an A- or B-Class grade on the club's report card after the pennant race. The same could be said for Yuki Matsui, the fireballing lefty who will try to apply the skills he's honed in the bullpen over the last several years to a role as a starting pitcher this season.