Japan's hardest-throwing pitcher, Roki Sasaki was deactivated Tuesday and will be sidelined for around two months with a left oblique-muscle injury, Lotte Marines manager and former MLB pitcher Masato Yoshii said.
The 21-year-old Sasaki, who last year became Japan's youngest perfect-game pitcher, and played for the national team in this year's World Baseball Classic, leads Japanese pro baseball with 130 strikeouts. He was dropped from the Marines' active roster for the first time this season.
"The doctor said it will take two months for him to be back throwing at full strength," said Yoshii, who was Sasaki's pitching coach with Lotte before taking over as manager this season.
The right-hander is 7-2 with a 1.48 ERA in 85 innings this season for the Pacific League's Marines.
He allowed a run on four hits and a walk on Monday, when he struck out nine over six innings and threw 93 pitches. The first indication something was amiss came on his 90th pitch of the game.
