Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano faced early trouble on August 11, surrendering two solo home runs in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix, according to a report by Sports Hochi.
Sugano, entering the game in pursuit of his 12th win of the season, opened the bottom of the first by inducing a ground ball to second base from former Samurai Japan outfielder Lars Nootbaar on a 1-1 split-finger fastball. After retiring the next batter, Sugano yielded a second solo shot to cleanup hitter Ketel Marte, who launched a first-pitch sweeper to right field.
The rocky start mirrors difficulties Sugano encountered during his previous outing on August 5 against the Tampa Bay Rays at Coors Field. In that game, according to Sports Hochi coverage, Sugano surrendered a triple and an RBI single on his first six pitches before giving up another run-scoring single to Chandler Simpson in a 5P-loss where he lasted into the sixth inning.
“The first inning got away with some unlucky runs, but I think I threw with resilience after that and managed reasonably well,” Sugano said of his performance against the American League East leaders, as reported by Sports Hochi.