Trevor Bauer Gets Rocked In Second Japanese Major League Start Even Though He Didn't Allow A Walk

Trevor Bauer's second start with the DeNA BayStars did not go well. The 32-year-old pitcher made it through six innings, but took his first loss of the year after getting rocked.

Bauer, the 2020 Cy Young Award winner, signed with Yokohama of the Nippon Professional Baseball league back in March on a one-year deal that could be worth up to $4 million (ish) with incentives. This is his first season toeing the rubber since 2021.

The Dodgers placed Bauer on administrative leave in July of that year amid an internal investigation into significant sexual assault allegations. He has not pitched in the MLB since.

Bauer was later suspended for 324 games, per the league's domestic violence policy, but had the sentence reduced to 194 games after an appeal. And then, after not facing any criminal charges from the allegations and maintaining his innocence, he was reinstated in December.

No team was willing to sign Bauer for 2023, so he went overseas.

His first start on the minor league level in Japan drew a massive crowd. His first start on the major league level was dominant.

Tuesday, not so much.

Trevor Bauer got shelled, but it was better than it looked.

In his second start with the BayStars, Bauer was tasked with the 13-18 Yomiuri Giants. It was a game that should not have given him any trouble, and to some extent, it didn't.

Bauer did not allow a walk and struck out eight on 103 pitches.

Everything else, though, was less-than ideal. Yomiuri's lineup couldn't stop getting its bat on the ball.

Bauer gave up seven runs, six earned, on 11 hits. Three of the 11 hits were home runs.

Kazuma Okamoto took him deep to centerfield in the second inning to get on the board.

Five innings later, Takuzo Oshiro got ahold of an 0-1 pitch for a two-run shot.

Not long thereafter, Makoto Kadowaki (who was hitting under .100 with a -38 wRC+ entering the game) recorded his third hit of the evening. It was a bomb to right.

The third home run is what put an end to Bauer's evening. It would not have been nearly as bad of an outing if he hadn't pitched the sixth, but that's not how it played out.

The Giants, who are not very good, couldn't stop hitting.

On the flip side, Bauer also struck out twice at the dish. He isn't a hitter, but it added insult to injury.

Bauer is 1-1 in his first two starts with the BayStars. Tuesday wasn't great, but it looked much worse than it was. Even though Bauer was giving Yomiuri pitches to hit, he was finding the zone.

Yokohama seems to have Bauer on a six-day rotation. Although it is subject to change, his next start would come on Monday.