Rick van den Hurk won’t start game 4 in Nippon Series

With a little bit of (bad) luck, Rick van den Hurk will get a 2017 Nippon Series championship ring without throwing a pitch in the Nippon Series. Rick will not start in game four. With a 3-0 lead over the DeNA BayStars, the Softbank Hawks only need one win to sweep the team from Yokohama.

Rick will not be the starter for game four. That honor will be for Tsuyoshi Wada. Wada, an eleven-year NPB veteran with also two MLB seasons under his belt, lost a part of the season due to elbow surgery.  Wada had eight starts and had a 4-0 record during the regular season. In the second part of the 2017 Climax Series, Wada didn’t do that well. In five innings of the fourth game of the Climax Series, Wada gave up five runs on nine hits and two walks.

Rick posted a 13-7 record in 25 starts with a 3.24 ERA in the 2017 season. In game five of the 2017 Climax Series, Rick just didn’t last long enough to get the win. In 4.2. innings, Rick allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and four walks.

With a 3-0 lead, there is a very big chance the Softbank Hawks will win their third championship in four years and Rick will win his second NPB championship ring in three years, no matter the outcome of tomorrow’s game. If the BayStars will beat the Hawks tomorrow, Rick will start game five.