Hanshin's Ishii Pitches First Game of Season After Achilles Injury, Then Rests
Daichi Ishii is a pitcher for the Hanshin Tigers baseball team in Japan.
Some time ago, he suffered a serious injury: he ruptured his Achilles tendon, a part of the body near the foot.
This kept him away from playing baseball for many months.
On June 5, Ishii returned to the field and pitched in his first game of the season.
He threw one inning and did not allow the other team to score, which is called a scoreless inning.
The game was against the DeNA team.
However, on June 6, Ishii was left off the bench, meaning he did not play in that game.
It is not unusual for players returning from injury to rest between games.
Ishii's wife has spoken about how difficult the past six months have been for their family.
She described the challenges they faced while he was recovering.
Many fans of the Hanshin Tigers, sometimes called Tora-tou or 'tiger supporters', have been hoping for his full recovery.
Some fans wrote messages on small wooden boards called ema, which people use in Japan to express wishes.
These ema showed the fans' strong hope that Ishii would recover and return to top form.
Ishii's comeback has touched many people, both his teammates and fans, who followed his long road to recovery.
The team and its supporters are hopeful that he will continue to improve and contribute to the Tigers this season.
Vocabulary7 words
- ruptured
- broke or tore suddenly
- Achilles tendon
- a body part near the foot that connects muscle to bone
- inning
- one part of a baseball game
- scoreless
- with no points scored
- bench
- where players sit when not playing in a game
- Tora-tou
- a nickname for fans of the Hanshin Tigers
- ema
- small wooden boards used in Japan to write wishes
Quiz
Answer key
1. A ruptured Achilles tendon 2. He pitched his first game of the season 3. To express their hope for Ishii's recovery
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Daichi Ishii is a _____ for the Hanshin Tigers baseball team.
He suffered a serious injury: he _____ his Achilles tendon.
This kept him away from _____ for many months.
On June 5, Ishii returned to the field and pitched in his first _____ of the season.
He threw one inning and did not allow the other team to _____.
The game was against the _____ team.
On June 6, Ishii was left off the _____.
Ishii's _____ has spoken about how difficult the past six months have been.
Many fans, sometimes called _____, have been hoping for his full recovery.
Some fans wrote messages on small wooden boards called _____.