This game was part of the annual "Hawks Festival at the Tokyo Dome". It is held in Tokyo instead of Fukuoka because the headquarters of the owning company, Softbank, are in Tokyo and the team distributes tickets for all of their employees to attend the game. The team wears a special uniform for the occasion. The ceremonial first pitch was by Mako (Mako Yamaguchi), an idol singer who is part of the 9-member Japanese girl group NiziU, formed by JYP Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment Japan through "Nizi Project", a reality competition show designed to form the new group. The top nine contestants from the show were selected to form the group. Mako, who is from Fukuoka, finished first in the competition and is considered the leader of the group. Softbank is collaborating long term with NiziU so it wasn't surprising to see Mako throwing the ceremonial first pitch surrounded by her fellow group members. Enny Romero allowed just four base runners over seven innings to pick up his sixth win of the year as the Marines put a damper on the Hawks' party atmosphere, 8-1. "Sushi Boy" Brandon Laird's 12th home run of the year, a three run shot in the third inning, helped established an early 4-0 lead that the Hawks were never to overcome. Laird went 3-for-5 on the night, as did Shogo Nakamura who added a solo bomb in the eighth. The two teams will have Tuesday off before resuming their series in Fukuoka on Wednesday.
Highlights: Rakuten Eagles at Orix Buffaloes Back-to-back home runs from Daichi Suzuki and Hideto Asamura off Orix reliever Yuta Kuroki in the ninth inning helped propel the Eagles past the Buffaloes 4-2. Rakuten starter Takahiro Norimoto picked up his sixth win, striking out ten over 7-1/3 innings on the mound. He recorded six consecutive Ks in the 2nd and 3rd innings. It was the first game this season played at the Buffaloes 'second' home venue, Hotto Motto Field in Kobe.
Shogin & Nissin Stadium in Yamagata also saw its first NPB contest of the year, with the Yomiuri Giants defeating the Chunichi Dragons, 6-2. Yoshihiro Maru went 2-for-4 including a two-run homer in the fifth inning for the Kyojin. Home run number 27 for Munetaka Murakami, a three-run opposite field job that overturned a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead in the fifth inning. The Yakult Swallows went on to beat the Hiroshima Carp, 6-3. 1541736200150855683 is not a valid tweet id
Wednesday, June 29 Marines at Hawks was postponed (covid) Boxscores: http://hosted.stats.com/npb/scoreboard.asp?day=20220629
Highlights: Chunichi Dragons at Yomiuri Giants A controversial 'dead ball' pitch (the term used in Japan for a batter hit by a pitch) with bases loaded in the 10th inning gave the Dragons a 3-2 victory over the Yomiuri Giants in Koriyama. The 1-1 pitch by Giants reliever Takuya Kuwahara went up and in on Chunichi pinch hitter Taiki Mitsumata and was ruled by home plate umpire Kazuaki Nako to have struck Mitsumatas's hand, forcing in the go-ahead run witch ultimately became the game-winning run with no outs in the top of the 10th inning. Giants manager Tatsunori Hara requested a video replay but the call stood. TV replays were difficult to fully judge but the pitch looked to have struck the knob of the bat. Toshiki Abe drove in the Dragons other two runs on a night that saw him go 5-for-5 at the plate. pic.twitter.com/PZ0cMvPapp— ドラペイ (@Dorapeinet) June 29, 2022 The game was played at York Kaiseizan Stadium in the Fukushima Prefecture. The 18,000 capacity - 8,000 of which are officially listed to be in the outfield grass bleachers - make it the smallest 'countryside' venue used in NPB so far this season.
Munetaka Murakami Home run number 28 of 2022, coming in the 8th inning of the Yakult Swallows 9-2 victory over the Hiroshima Carp... 1542109241242431488 is not a valid tweet id ... and number 29 in the 9th inning, landing in the same bleacher section as #28. え…？2打席連続…？29号ホームランもしかして7月中に昨季の39本超える？ガチで神様やん😱🙏これでこのカードも勝ち越し確定‼️ヤクルトもチーム全体で強い。でもそれ以上にこの男がえぐい#swallows#村上宗隆 https://t.co/QJkPildfMs— ざわ🔔（元76ers推し高校生） (@NBA76ers1290) June 29, 2022 Murakami has 14 home runs and 35 RBIs in the month of June. 8 round-trippers in his last 6 games. 7 dongs in the 6 games the Swallows have played at Hiroshima's Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium so far this year. He's 22 years old.
Fan voting for the All-Star Series ended on June 27. Teams will be announced on July 6. FWIW, these were my selections. You were allowed to vote once a day but I only voted one time. And YES, there's probably a bit of bias in some of my CL selections. CENTRAL LEAGUE SP : Koyo Aoyagi (Tigers) RP : Atsuki Yuasa (Tigers) CL : Ryoji Kuribayashi (Carp) C : Ryutaro Umeno (Tigers) 1B : Ryan McBroom (Carp) 2B : Shugo Maki (BayStars) 3B : Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) SS : Takumu Nakano (Tigers) OF : Teruaki Sato (Tigers) OF : Adam Walker (Giants) OF : Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) DH was not an option since the CL does not use the DH, but it will be used in both All-Star Games. PACIFIC LEAGUE SP : Roki Sasaki (Marines) RP : Katsuki Matayoshi (Hawks) CL : Yuki Matsui (Eagles) C : Takuya Kai (Hawks) 1B : Hotaka Yamakawa (Lions) 2B : Hideto Asamura (Eagles) 3B : Adeiny Hechavarria (Marines) SS : Kenta Imamiya (Hawks) OF : Go Matsumoto (Fighters) OF : Masataka Yoshida (Buffaloes) OF : Yuki Yanagita (Hawks) DH : Brandon Laird (Marines) A combination of fan voting and player voting will decide the starting lineups. Team managers and coaches will select the rest of the squads. As is custom in recent years, two games will be played: Tuesday 26 July, PayPay Dome in Fukuoka Wednesday 27 July, 'Botchan' Stadium in Matsuyama.
#大田泰示 選手、気迫のヘッドスライディング！！💪🔥リプレー検証のシーンをご覧あれ！👀9回裏DB 6x-5 T#サヨナラ#baystars pic.twitter.com/ZdDNQvsdQe— 横浜DeNAベイスターズ (@ydb_yokohama) June 30, 2022 Highlights: Hanshin Tigers at Yokohama BayStars An incredible ending in Yokohama as the BayStars scored two runs in the ninth for a sayonara 6-5 victory over the Tigers to complete the three game series sweep. Yokohama took a commanding early lead with four runs in the first inning, punctuated by a two-run double into the left-center alley by Toshiro Miyazaki. Hanshin began chipping away at the deficit by scoring twice in the fifth, Shugo Maki's error allowing Fumiya Hojoh to score from second with the first run. Teruaki Sato then put the Tigers on even terms with a sacrifice fly in the sixth and a massive solo blast in the seventh. In the eighth inning Ryutaro Umeno gave Hansihn the lead, his fielder's choice to first base allowing pinch runner Kai Ueda to cross home plate. But the BayStars were able to get to Tigers closer Suguru Iwazaki in their final at bat. Masayuki Kuwahara led off with a single and was immediately brought home on Taishi Ohta's double off the left field wall. With two outs Hiroki Minei singled through the right side of the infield to bring home the winning run, Ohta just avoiding Umeno's glove to slide in safely which was upheld following a long video review.
(Extended) Highlights: Yaklult Swallows at Hiroshima Carp Questionable positioning by the Carp fielders allowed a two-run double by rookie Kazuya Maruyama to lift the Yakult Swallows to a 12 inning 4-2 victory and three-game sweep over the Hiroshima Carp. With two outs and Swallow runners on first and third, manager Shinji Sasaoka instructed the defense to play in, seemingly focusing on what might happen if they gave up a single rather than setting up for the third out. But Maruyama's routine fly to right-center caught the shallow outfield out of position and fell for the crucial two-run double that decided the game. For the first time this year and the third time in his career, Munetaka Murakami struck out four times before being walked twice including the 12 inning. The Swallows are the first team in NPB to reach 50 wins this season, the first team to reach 50 by June since the 2003 Hanshin Tigers. With only two games on the schedule the nightly program Pro Yakyu News featured extended highlights of Thursday's action. Hence the 13 minute video.
Friday, July 1 Hawks at Lions was postponed (covid) Boxscores: http://hosted.stats.com/npb/scoreboard.asp?day=20220701
Highlights: Rakuten Eagles at Lotte Marines The pitching matchup between Masahiro Tanaka and Roki Sasaki took top billing in NPB on Friday but a blister on his finger burst and forced Sasaki out of the game after four innings. It's the first time in his career that the 20 year old has failed to go five innings in a game. His stat line: Four innings, no runs, two hits, two walks... and 10 strikeouts. Four of those strikeouts came in the very first inning. Eagles lead off hitter Haruki Nishikawa reached first base following a dropped third strike got away from Lotte catcher Kō Matsukawa. Sasaki proceeded to fan the next three batters to become the 26th pitcher in NPB history to achieve the feat. Sasaki's withdrawal was immediately felt when reliever Kenta Onuma allowed three hits in the fifth inning capped by a three run home run from Hiroaki Shimauchi, who added a solo bomb in the seventh inning. For his part, Tanaka went five innings allowing two runs on four hits and two walks with only three strikeouts. With the score tied 4-4 in the eighth inning Toshiya Satoh hit a solo blast high into the right field bleachers as the Marines went on to defeat the Eagles 6-4.
Koji Chikamoto extended his hitting streak to 27 games but a two-run blast by Ariel Martínez in the eighth inning provided the Chunichi Dragons with a 3-1 victory over the Hanshin Tigers.
Non-NPB related. See thread for list of UK support for all MLB teams As we approach half-way in the @MLB regular season - here is a snap shot of the largest UK fan-run team accounts! 🧵1/4 pic.twitter.com/KFFDcUqVh2— Baseball Brit (@BaseballBrit) July 1, 2022
Highlights: Orix Buffaloes at Nippon-Ham Fighters Hiromi Itoh hurled a complete game shutout on 119 pitches to lead the Fighters to a 5-0 victory over the Buffaloes. The home team got to Orix pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto early when Kensuke Kondoh scored as Go Matsumoto beat out a throw to first base which would have ended the first inning. Pinch-hitter Daigo Kamikawabata knocked in two more runs in the sixth inning with a double down the right field line, and Shingo Usami added a home run in the seventh to knock Yamamoto out of the game. The Buffaloes ace finished with eight strikeouts.
There was another good pitching matchup in Hiroshima where both starters did not yield a run. Masato Morishita went eight innings allowing five hits and two walks for the Hiroshima Carp, while Tomoyuki Sugano of the Yomiuri Giants allowed five hits with just one walk over seven innings. With extra innings looming Ryan McBroom slugged a two-run Sayonara into the right field bleachers to give the Carp a 2-0 win over the Kyojin. Yasutaka Shiomi's bases-loaded groundball chopper to third was enough for pinch runner Sōma Uchiyama to score the sayonara run beating Toshiro Miyazaki's throw home as the Yakult Swallows overcame the Yokohama BayStars 2-1 in 10 innings. As the only team over .500 in the Central League where they have a 13.5 game lead over the Giants, the Swallows have established a Magic Number of 53 to clinch the League pennant. And we're only in early July!
Highlights: Softbank Hawks at Seibu Lions Shuta Ishikawa hurled a complete game one-hitter as the Softbank Hawks returned to play following postponements due to multiple covid infections with a 3-0 win over the Seibu Lions. Ishikawa walked three batters while tossing 118 pitches total. Ukyo Shuto provided the only offense needed with a first inning solo home run off Seibu starter Kaito Yoza. The Hawks added two more runs in the third inning including a RBI double from Shuto who was then singled home by Taisei Makihara.
Yusuke Ohyama and Takumu Nakano each hit solo home runs as the Hanshin Tigers took two out of three from the Chunichi Dragons following their 3-0 shutout victory in Nagoya. For Ohyama, the home run was his 19th of the seaosn and the 100th of his career. Koji Chikamoto singled in the seventh inning to extend his hitting streak to 29 consecutive games. Hiroto Saiki, who went five innings in his first start since undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery two years ago, picked up his first win since 2019 and was very emotional during his Hero of the Game interview. 阪神タイガース 才木 浩人涙のヒーローインタビュー pic.twitter.com/tXH2IQfXZi— ドラペイ (@Dorapeinet) July 3, 2022
Mōdashō In Japanese it is written as 猛打賞 which literally translates as 'fierce hitter award'. In MLB, stats are kept when a player achieves a multi-hit performance, which is more than one hit (2 or more) in a game. Unique to Japan, a modasho is a prize/award given out in NPB by game sponsors to any player who achieves at least THREE hits in a single contest. Although the award was established in 1949, the first player retroactively credited with achieving three hits in a professional game was Takeo Kimata, who went 3-for-5 with 1 RBI on April 29, 1936. Highlights: Yomiuri Giants at Hiroshima Carp Coming into the 2022 season Hayato Sakamoto of the Giants had achieved 171 madashos, tied for 8th (with NPB legend Sadaharu Oh) on the all-time list. Entreing Sunday Sakamoto had added four more modashos this season, putting him tied with long time Chunichi Dragon player and current manager Kazuyoshi Tatsunami at 175. On Sunday against the Carp, Sakamoto moved into sole position of 7th place on the all-time list with 176 modashos after going 3-for-5 including two home runs and three RBIs in helping the Giants to a 7-5 win against the Carp. At 33 years old, the 15 year veteran shortstop shows no signs of slowing down as he continues to climb his way up the all-time list with his productiveness. MODASHO - ALL-TIME LEADERS 251 - Isao Harimoto (1959-1981) - NPB and Pacific League record 194 - Tetsuharu Kawakami (1938-1958) - 1938-1949 unofficial awards 186 - Shigeo Nagashima (1958-1974) - Central League record 180 - Katsuya Nomura (1954-1980) 178 - Yutaka Fukumoto (1969-1988) 178 - *Kazuo Matsui (1995-2003, 2011-2028) 176 - Hayato Sakamoto (2007-present) 175 - Kazuyoshi Tatsunami (1988-2009) 171 - Sadaharu Oh (1959-1980) 169 - Yoshinori Hirose (1956-1977) Single season record (NPB) 27 - Tsuyoshi Nishioka (Chiba Lotte Marines), 2010 (144-game season) 27 - Shogo Akiyama (Saitama Seibu Lions), 2015 (143-game season) 26 - Ichiro Suzuki (Orix BlueWave), 1996 (130-game season) Single season record for a Japanese player 34 - Ichiro Suzuki, 2004 (161 games played in MLB) Career record (NPB + outside of Japan) 379 -Ichiro Suzuki (120 in NPB, 259 in MLB) *Kazuo Matsui, who is tied for 5th place on the NPB all-time record list, achieved 32 modashos during his seven season stint in MLB from 2004-2010 for a career total of 210.
BATTING Average .320 - Toshiro Miyazaki (BayStars) .318 - Shogo Sakakura (Carp) .316 - Yasutaka Shiomi (Swallows) .313 - Keita Sano (BayStars) .311 - Yōhei Ōshima (Dragons) On-Base Percentage .438 - Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) .394 - Yasutaka Shiomi (Swallows) .385 - Toshiro Miyazaki (BayStars) .375 - Shogo Sakakura (Carp) .371 - Yoshihiro Maru (Giants) OPS 1.105 - Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) .911 - Yasutaka Shiomi (Swallows) .891 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) .885 - Yoshihiro Maru (Giants) .871 - Adam Walker (Giants) Home Runs 29 - Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) 20 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) 19 - Yusuke Ohyama (Tigers) 17 - Yoshihiro Maru (Giants) 16 - Adam Walker (Giants) RBIs 78 - Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) 61 - Yusuke Ohyama (Tigers) 60 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) 53 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) 48 - 2 players tied AVG with RISP .375 - Yasutaka Shiomi (Swallows) .354 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) .350 - Ryoma Nishikawa (Carp) .342 - Shogo Sakakura (Carp) .320 - Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) Stolen Bases 22 - Yasutaka Shiomi (Swallows) 16 - Takumu Nakano (Tigers) 15 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) 11 - Naoki Yoshikawa (Giants) 10 - Kairi Shimada (Tigers) PITCHING ERA 1.49 - Koyo Aoyagi (Tigers) 2.29 - Yasuhiro Ogawa (Swallows) 2.50 - Yuki Nishi (Tigers) 2.64 - Yudai Ohno (Dragons) 2.69 - Hiroki Tokoda (Carp) WHIP 0.89 - Koyo Aoyagi (Tigers) 0.97 - Hiroki Tokoda (Carp) 1.03 - Yudai Ohno (Dragons) 1.04 - Yasuhiro Ogawa (Swallows) 1.11 - Yuki Nishi (Tigers) Innings pitched 103.0 - Masato Morishita (Carp) 96.1 - Yūya Yanagi (Dragons) 92.0 - Yudai Ohno (Dragons) 90.1 - Koyo Aoyagi (Tigers) 88.0 - Daichi Ohsera (Carp) Strikeouts 84 - Yūya Yanagi (Dragons) 79 - Aren Kuri (Carp) 78 - Koyo Aoyagi (Tigers) 75 - Masato Morishita (Carp) 74 - Keiji Takahashi (Swallows) Wins 8 - Koyo Aoyagi (Tigers) 7 - Hiroki Tokoda (Carp) 7 - Shosei Togo (Giants) 7 - Daichi Ohsera (Carp) 6 - 3 players tied Holds 22 - Atsuki Yuasa (Tigers) 19 - Nobutaka Imamura (Giants) 17 - Hiromu Ise (BayStars) 17 - Yariel Rodriguez (Dragons) 16 - 2 players tied Saves 23 - Scott McGough (Swallows) 23 - Taisei Ota (Giants) 17 - Raidel Martínez (Dragons) 16 - 3 players tied