Sun Yi-Lei Makes Season Debut Start in NPB, Aims for First Career Win and to Prove His Ability

(Central News Agency, Taipei, June 11th) Taiwanese pitcher Sun Yi-Lei of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters will make his first starting appearance of the season today, also challenging for his first career win. He hopes to pitch better than his previous two starts and prove his ability.

Sun Yi-Lei will take the mound today against the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. Through his agency, he stated, "Because my previous starts weren't that good, I'm looking forward to this start even more. I want to prove that I have the ability to be a starter and can pitch a good game."

Last season, Sun Yi-Lei made 9 appearances in the top league, posting a 5.11 ERA. His two starts were on August 11th (3.1 innings, 2 runs allowed) and September 23rd (2 innings, 3 runs allowed), both resulting in losses. This season, he started in the minors, making 9 appearances (8 starts) with a 2.54 ERA and a 2-3 record.

Sun also revealed that he has changed his pitching windup, hoping to make it sharper, but the subsequent movements haven't changed much. He added that this year he understands his body better and can eliminate accumulated fatigue, saying, "I won't get more tired the more I pitch like last year."

Sun Yi-Lei pitched against Yokohama once last season, throwing one scoreless inning in relief with three up, three down. He also mentioned facing Yokohama hitters in the minors, noting it wasn't easy. "I'm still nervous and will give it my all today," he said. (Editor: Huang Mingxi) 1150611