Trevor Bauer picks up victory in debut with Yokohama - ESPN

YOKOHAMA, Japan — After cheerleaders welcomed him and after receiving the largest ovation of any Yokohama player at the start of the game, Trevor Bauer delivered what was expected Wednesday in his debut with the Yokohama DeNA Baystars.

Pitching his first game in just over 22 months — the last was with the Los Angeles Dodgers — Bauer scattered seven hits in seven innings, allowed one run, struck out nine and threw 98 pitches in a 4-1 victory against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp before a crowd of 33,202, which the team said was a record.

The highlight might have been Bauer's batting.

Pitchers still bat in Japan's Central League, where the designated hitter is not used. Bauer grounded out once and put down a perfect sacrifice bunt in the fifth, which led to Yokohama's go-ahead run. He also struck out.

The only pitching blemish was a bases-empty home run in the second inning to fellow American Matt Davidson, who played with Bauer with the Cincinnati Reds in 2020.

«My ex-teammate got me,» Bauer said. «I don't know how far it went. I talked to him before his next at-bat, and I said: 'Why do you have to do that to me?'»

Bauer's first game has been long awaited in Yokohama, which has not won the Japanese season championship since 1998. Bauer is expected to deliver with the team now leading the Central League.

«I felt great,» Bauer said. «I just felt normal. The body felt good: command, velocity, results. All good. It was a great day.»

He even tried a few words of Japanese, addressing the fans after the game. Roughly translated, he said: «I win in Yokohama.»

Fans applauded and understood immediately. He said teammates were teaching him.

«I have to make sure they're not telling me to say something wrong,» Bauer said.

Bauer was asked by