Mountain Day in Japan was officially on August 11 but this year is celebrated as a public holiday on August 12. As such, a full slate of NPB games was scheduled. Jose Osuna's sacrifice fly to centerfield allowed Hideki Nagaoka to score the walk off run in the last of the 9th to give the Yakult Swallows a 5-4 sayonara win over the Chunichi Dragons at Meiji Jingu in Tokyo. The Dragons had tied the score in the top of the 9th when Seiya Hosokawa hit a one-out solo home run, his 16th dinger of the year. Domingo Santana also hit a solo home run in the 4th inning that had put Yakult up 4-3. It was Santana's third RBI of the game. Franmil Reyes and Yua Tamiya each homered to lead the Nippon-Ham Fighters to a 5-1 win over the Seibu Lions at Es Con Field. It was Reyes' 10th round-tripper in his debut season in NPB. It's been another tough year for the Lions who sit in the cellar of the Pacific League with a record of 29-71-2. With 41 games remaining they are guaranteed to finish below .500 for the third time in four seasons.
Was at this Giants v Carp game last week where Hiroshima won 5-0 at the Tokyo Dome. Pretty awesome experience. Not a huge baseball fan but wanted to see how it would be different from games in the US. Got massive flashbacks of going to the old Astrodome as a kid in Houston. Was surprised at home many visiting fans there were, I was sitting on the side that was practically all Hiroshima fans. Also pretty cool as both sets of fans sing and play instruments throughout the game, kind of like football. Unfortunately the game wasn't too thrilling as Giants never really got off the ground and Carp won easily in the end. Did Yokohama Marinos v Consadole Sapporo match the next day for some J1 League action....
Very cool! An old high school classmate of mine visits Japan every so often and usually takes in a Giants game while he's there. He made me jealous earlier this year when he attended a Giants-Tigers game but surprised me by buying and sending me a Hanshin Tigers cap (in a Giants bag )..My first NPB trinket of any kind. Attending a NPB game is very much on my bucket list. Koshien Stadium and Es Con Field Hokkaido are the two I mainly want to visit. the oldest and newest baseball venues in Japan. Attending a game in Chiba is also high on the list just for the fan experience. Many regard the fans of the Lotte Marines as the loudest .
Reliever-turned-starter Livan Moinelo went the distance for the first time in his career in the SoftBank Hawks 6-1 victory over the Seibu Lions in Saitama. Moinelo allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out six on 112 pitches for his ninth win of the year. Kensuke Kondoh went 3-for-3 at the dish including his 16th and 17th home runs of the campaign. The Lions are on an 8 game losing streak for the fourth time this season, a first for a Pacific League club. Central League teams Hiroshima Carp (1950), Taiyo Whales (1955) and Yakult Atoms (1970) also went through the same fate. In the Rakuten Eagles 3-0 win over the Orix Buffloes, Takahisa Hayakawa earned his eighth win of the season with his second complete game of the year, the first as a shutout. He registered nine strikeouts along the way. In a dominating performance, Hayakawa allowed just two hits and two walks. And while the first base runner was caught stealing, the Buffaloes were induced into hitting three double plays which resulted in Hayakawa having faced the minimum 27 batters on the night. A curiously rare outing. On 29 April 1956 Shiro Ito of the Takahashi Unions allowed five hits while facing the minimum 27 batters in a complete game performance against the Daiei Stars. Hiroto Takahashi was touched for two earned runs but still had a good outing as the Chunichi Dragons defeated the Yakult Swallows with a tense 5-4 win. Takahashi pitched 6 innings allowing four hits and three walks with seven strikeouts to up his record to 10-1. The two earned runs raised his ERA to 0.68 Kaito Muramatsu was the offensive Hero for Chunichi going 3-for-5 including a double, an RBI and two runs scored. An inning after Tetsuto Yamada was hit with a 144 kmh (89 mph) fastball by Dragons reliever Kento Fujishima, tempers frayed in the 9th when a 155 kmh heater from Chunichi closer Raidel Martínez went up and in and struck the hand of leadoff batter Yukihiro Iwata. Both benches emptied but calm prevailed before anything got out of hand.
I was in Hiroshima the previous week, just did a day trip from Osaka using my Japan rail pass. Their stadium is near the train station. I didn't see a game there as I left in the afternoon, but I got a sense of the pregame vibes in town. There were fans everywhere around town, especially at the train station food area. And given how many and how loud their fans were even away in Tokyo, I'm taking it the Carp must have some sort of following. Definitely wouldn't mind catching a Hiroshima Carp game if ever back there....
When watching highlights you'll sometimes notice trains going by just behind the left field bleachers. Hiroshima is very much a must-visit for anyone visiting the country.
Shosei Togo tossed his fourth complete game of the season, three of which were shutouts including Wednesday's 4-0 win for the Yomiuri Giants over the Hanshin Tigers at the Tokyo Dome. Togo did not give up any walks while allowing seven hits with eight strikeouts to earn his ninth win of the year. All of the scoring came courtesy of a 4th inning grand slam from 19 year old Shogo Asano, the highly touted prospect whom the Giants drafted two years ago. Now in his second season, Asano will likely receive more playing time with injured outfielder Elier Hernández possibly out for the rest of the season and he demonstrated why he could figure prominently in the team's future after becoming just the 16th player in NPB history to hit a grand slam while in his teens. He joins veteran teammate Hayato Sakamoto (in 2008) as the only other Kyojin to have achieved the feat. 34 year old Ryosuke Kikuchi, still one of the best defensive infielders in the game today, came through with the bat when his three-run home run in the bottom of the 9th gave the Hiroshima Carp a dramatic come-from-behind 4-3 sayonara victory over the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. Chihiro Sumida pitched 6 strong innings allowing just one earned run while recording eight strikeouts as the Seibu Lions broke their eight game losing streak with a 4-1 win over the SoftBank Hawks. Shuta Tonosaki led the Seibu offense going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
No Central League games were played on Thursday. Hotaka Yamakawa took a commanding lead in the home run chase with three bombs at the Belluna Dome to power the SoftBnk Hawks to a 9-2 victory over the Seibu Lions. It's the second time in his career that Yamakawa has homered thrice in a game and he now leads all of NPB with 26 round-trippers for the year, five more than Munetaka Murakami who was idle on Thursday. Tatsuru Yanagimachi helped SoftBank's cause going 2-for-3 with a double and home run to drive in three runs. Takayuki Katoh threw 100 pitches over 8 innings allowing just one earned run to help lead the Nippon-Ham Fighters to a 6-1 win over the Lotte Marines. Marines starter Roki Sasaki was forced off injured with one out in the 2nd inning after a comebacker off the bat of Daiki Asama struck him on his left Achilles tendon. Sasaki only threw 16 pitches with his fastball topping out at 158 kmh (98 mph). Lotte manager Masato Yoshii said after the game that he is unsure when his prized ace will pitch next. The Fighters took full advantage of Sasaki's absence with a six-run 3rd inning. Franmil Reyes struck a three-run homer and Tatsuki Mizuno clubbed a two-run shot. With bases loaded and no outs, Kotaro Kurebayashi singled to right to give the Orix Buffaloes a sayonara 3-2 win over the Rakuten Eagles. The Buffaloes had tied it at 2-2 in the 8th when Ryōto Kita singled to centerfield driving in Taishi Hirooka from second base. Tomoya Mori went 3-for-4 including a double to open the 9th and ended up scoring the game-ending run.
Shortly before midnight NPB announced the cancellation of three Friday night games due to the approach of Typhoon No. 7/Ampil. The cancelled games were scheduled to be played at outdoor ballparks in the Eastern and Northern part of the country. The three games set to be played inland and in the Southwest in domed stadiums are currently scheduled to go ahead.
Friday 16 August Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2024-08-16 Swallows-Carp postponed (Typhoon Ampil) BayStars-Giants postponed (Typhoon Ampil) Eagles-Lions postponed (Typhoon Ampil)
Kohei Arihara earned his 11th win by tossing his third complete game of the year in the SoftBank Hawks 4-0 win over the Lotte Marines. Two of those three 9-inning outings were shutouts. Against Lotte of Friday Arihara allowed just four hits and one walk over 103 pitches. SoftBank scored three runs in the 1st inning on back-to-back home runs. Tatsuru Yanagimachi's two-run blast was his fourth homer of the year and it was immediately followed by Hotaka Yamakawa's 27th of the campaign. Yamakawa has now hit eight home runs over his last eight games. The Marines received some good news off the field when it was announced that Roki Sasaki suffered no injury after exiting the game against the Nippon-Ham Fighters in the 2nd inning following a sharp grounder that struck his left ankle and is expected to be on schedule for his next start on 22 Thursday or 23 Friday. The Orix Buffaloes scored three runs in the 7th inning en route to a 5-1 victory over the Nippon-Ham Fighters. With the score tied 1-1 Kōsei Ohsato singled with the bases loaded for what became the game-winning hit. Two batters later Taishi Hirooka added insurance with a two-RBI single. Masahiro Nishino led Orix by going 3-for-3 including a double with an RBI and two runs scored. A solo home run in the 6th inning by Seiji Kawagoe proved the difference in the Chunichi Dragons 2-1 win over the Hanshin Tigers. It was a tough loss for Hanshin starter Jeremy Beasley who allowed the two earned runs on only four hits and a walk over 7 innings while registering six strikeouts.
A look at Saturday's probables on the NPB website shows one photo missing. On July 31 the Chiba Lotte Marines made headlines when they signed 13-year MLB veteran Dallas Keuchel. The 36 year old left-hander last saw action earlier this season with the Milwaukee Brewers. In four starts he allowed 10 runs in 16-3/4 innings for a 5.40 ERA. On July 14 Keuchel was designated for assignment. cleared waivers on July 17 and opted for free agency in lieu of an outright assignment. Winner of the 2015 American League Cy Young Award while pitching for the Houston Astros, Keuchel will become the third former Cy Young winner to play in NPB following in the footsteps of Don Newcombe and Trevor Bauer. He will make his first start in Japan on Saturday against the SoftBank Hawks and Carter Stewart Jr. in a battle of American starting pitchers. The Pacific League's Youtube channel announced on short notice that they will stream the game LIVE tonight in a special unscheduled broadcast. SoftBank Hawks vs Lotte Marines 14:00 Saturday Japan 1:00am Saturday Eastern U.S. 10:00pm Friday Pacific U.S. (My edit)
Saturday 17 August Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2024-08-17 Dragons-Tigers finished tied after 12 innings
A bases loaded double by Gregory Polanco in the 8th inning gave the Lotte Marines a 5-2 victory over the SoftBank Hawks in Fukuoka on Saturday. Incredibly, it was just the second hit of the game for the visitors following a two-run home run by Shogo Nakamura in the 2nd inning. MLB-veteran Dallas Keuchel made his first appearance in Japan for the Marines and went 5 innings. After a rough 1st inning where he allowed two runs on three hits, he settled and only allowed two more base runners via walks over his last four innings. He struck out three batters over 73 pitches and although did not figure in the decision it was considered a successful NPB debut from the 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner. Hawks starter Carter Stewart Jr. also pitched well, allowing just the one hit to Nakamura over 6 innings. He walked four batters while fanning three. An eight run outburst in the 2nd inning paved the way for an 11-4 destruction by the Seibu Lions over the Rakuten Eagles in Sendai. Seibu led 3-1 after the opening inning before sending 14 batters to the plate in the 2nd. A error by third baseman Fumiya Kurokawa allowed leadoff batter Koichi Okumura to reach base safely, opening the floodgates as the Lions produced eight runs on seven hits, three walks and a sacrifice fly to lead 11-1. Shortstop wizard Sosuke Genda wielded the biggest bat on the night going 4-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Shūta Tonosaki, Takayoshi Yamamura and Takuya Hiruma contributed with two RBIs and a run scored for each with Yamamura achieving a modasho. The early scoring barrage allowed Seibu pitching ace Tatsuya Imai to cruise to his fifth win of the year striking out six batters over six innings. Kaima Taira made his third appearance this month since returning from injury, allowing one hit while striking out the other three batters he faced in the 8th inning. Taira, who has MLB aspirations, had been out of action with forearm tightness since the end of April Toshiki Abe hit his seventh home run of the year for the Eagles. It's been a struggling two years for Samurai Japan WBC member Keiji Takahashi but he looked stellar in his latest outing as the Yakult Swallows beat the Hiroshima Carp 6-3 at Meiji Jingu. The southpaw Takahashi allowed two runs on just four hits and no walks with five strikeouts for his fifth win of the year. Five runs in the 6th inning led the Swallows to victory with Jose Osuna and Yukihiro Iwata each delivering two-run doubles. In his 17th appearance this season, Hiroshima starter Daichi Ohsera allowed more than three earned runs for the first time after surrendering all six runs. He began the night with a 0.96 ERA but saw it jump to 1.37 after being chased with two outs during the Yakult rally. Shota Suekane blasted two home runs to lead the Carp offense.
Tyler Austin opened the bottom of the 11th inning with a Sayonara home run to give the Yokohama DeNA BayStars a 2-1 victory over the Yomiuri Giants. Austin, who was 0-for-4 as he stepped into the box, sent the first pitch by reliever Ryuta Heinai into the left-centerfield bleachers to close out Sunday's action. Kouki Kajiwara broke a scoreless game in the 6th inning with a solo home run off Giants starter Tomoyuki Sugano, but Yomiuri answered in the 8th when Hayato Sakamoto's double to left field scored Naoki Yoshikawa from first base. The BayStars win came on the final home game that they wore their "Kanagawa" jerseys which were worn the past three weeks in celebration of professional baseball being played in the Prefecture for 70 years. The club began life as the Taiyo Whales and moved their home base to Kawasaki in 1955. In 1978 they moved to Yokohama Stadium and by 1993 had changed their name to the BayStars. They were acquired by mobile telephone company DeNA in 2011 and the change was reflected in the team's name. Yutaro Sugimoto hit two home runs to lead the Orix Buffaloes to a 5-2 triumph over the Nippon-Ham Fighters at the Kyocera Do0me in Osaka. His solo shot in the 2nd inning tied the score at 1-1 while his three-run blast in the 4th ultimately became the game winner. Sugimoto is now at seven dingers for the year. Tomoya Mori added insurance in the 6th with his ninth homer of the season. After a brilliant rookie season, Shunpeita Yamashita has had a struggling sophomore year that has seen him relegated to the bullpen. On Sunday he was given his fifth start of the year and while his command was indicative of how 2024 has been for him, he did register nine strikeouts while allowing just one earned run on two hits and four walks for his first win of the year. His fastball was consistent in the 96-97 mph range, topping out at 157 kmh.
BATTING *To qualify: 3.1 plate appearances per the number of games played by that player's club Average .316 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) .294 - Hiromi Oka (Marines) .292 - Ryosuke Tatsumi (Eagles) .290 - Toshiya Satoh (Marines) .283 - Tomoya Mori (Buffaloes) On-Base Percentage .442 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) .379 - Hiromi Oka (Marines) .369 - Tomoya Mori (Buffaloes) .351 - Ryosuke Tatsumi (Eagles) .339 - Toshiya Satoh (Marines) OPS .972 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) .836 - Hiromi Oka (Marines) .807 - Tomoya Mori (Buffaloes) .803 - Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) .772 - Gregory Polanco (Marines) Home Runs 27 - Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) 18 - Gregory Polanco (Marines) 17 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) 16 - Chusei Mannami (Fighters) 14 - Neftalí Soto (Marines) RBIs 81 - Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) 68 - Neftalí Soto (Marines) 61 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) 60 - Ryoya Kurihara (Hawks) 50 - Chusei Mannami (Fighters) 50 - Ariel Martínez (Fighters) AVG with RISP .344 - Ryosuke Tatsumi (Eagles) .327 - Neftalí Soto (Marines) .319 - Kotaro Kurebayashi (Buffaloes) .315 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) .312 - Yuya Ogo (Eagles) Stolen Bases 37 - Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) 24 - Hiroto Kobukata (Eagles) 23 - Yuya Ogo (Eagles) 17 - Go Matsumoto (Fighters) 15 - Ryota Isobata (Fighters) PITCHING *To qualify: Minimum innings equal to the number of games played by that pitcher's club ERA 1.50 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 2.35 - Takahisa Hayakawa (Eagles) 2.36 - Kohei Arihara (Hawks) 2.47 - Sachiya Yamasaki (Fighters) 2.50 - Anderson Espinoza (Buffaloes) WHIP 0.86 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 0.94 - Kohei Arihara (Hawks) 0.97 - Cristopher Mercedes (Marines) 1.08 - Atsuki Taneichi (Marines) 1.089 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) 1.092 - Takahisa Hayakawa (Eagles) Innings pitched 133.2 - Kohei Arihara (Hawks) 132.1 - Atsuki Taneichi (Marines) 132.0 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 130.1 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) 128.1 - Chihiro Sumida (Lions) Strikeouts 137 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) 121 - Atsuki Taneichi (Marines) 121 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 118 - Takahisa Hayakawa (Eagles) 106 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) Wins 11 - Kohei Arihara (Hawks) 9 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 9 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) 8 - 4 players tied Holds 28 - Ryusei Kawano (Fighters) 24 - Tomohito Sakai (Eagles) 23 - Yuki Matsumoto (Hawks) 20 - Shota Suzuki (Marines) 19 - Seiryu Kotajima (Buffaloes) Saves 23 - Takahiro Norimoto (Eagles) 20 - Roberto Osuna (Hawks) 19 - Andrés Machado (Buffaloes) 19 - Naoya Masuda (Marines) 18 - Albert Abreu (Lions)
BATTING *To qualify: 3.1 plate appearances per the number of games played by that player's club Average .314 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) .302 - Seiya Hosokawa (Dragons) .296 - Hideki Nagaoka (Swallows) .292 - Yoshihiro Maru (Giants) .290 - Takayoshi Noma (Carp) On-Base Percentage .396 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) .3807 - Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) .3806 - Seiya Hosokawa (Dragons) .374 - Toshiro Miyazaki (BayStars) .371 - Yoshihiro Maru (Giants) OPS .908 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) .858 - Seiya Hosokawa (Dragons) .830 - Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) .808 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) .807 - Toshiro Miyazaki (BayStars) Home Runs 22 - Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) 20 - Tyler Austin (BayStars) 18 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) 18 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) 16 - Seiya Hosokawa (Dragons) RBIs 60 - Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) 59 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) 57 - Jose Osuna (Swallows) 55 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) 52 - Seiya Hosokawa (Dragons) 52 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) AVG with RISP .333 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) .3298 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) .3296 - Hideki Nagaoka (Swallows) .3296 - Yusuke Ohyama (Tigers) .319 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) Stolen Bases 17 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) 11 - Naoki Yoshikawa (Giants) 10 - Kouki Kajiwara (BayStars) 10 - Ryutaro Hatsuki (Carp) 9 - 3 players tied PITCHING *To qualify: Minimum innings equal to the number of games played by that pitcher's club ERA 1.37 - Daichi Ohsera (Carp) 1.58 - Masato Morishita (Carp) 1.67 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) 1.74 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 1.867 - Tomoyuki Sugano (Giants) 1.869 - Iori Yamasaki (Giants) WHIP 0.93 - Masato Morishita (Carp) 0.96 - Shosei Togo (Giants) 0.97 - Tomoyuki Sugano (Giants) 0.98 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 1.016 - Daichi Ohsera (Carp) 1.017 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) Innings pitched 140.0 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 138.0 - Shosei Togo (Giants) 129.2 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) 129.2 - Hiroki Tokoda (Carp) 125.2 - Shoki Murakami (Tigers) Strikeouts 115 - Shosei Togo (Giants) 108 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) 104 - Hiroto Takahashi (Dragons) 102 - Shoki Murakami (Tigers) 98 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) Wins 11 - Tomoyuki Sugano (Giants) 10 - Hiroto Takahashi (Dragons) 10 - Hiroki Tokoda (Carp) 9 - 4 players tied Holds 31 - Takuma Kirishiki (Tigers) 30 - Shinya Matsuyama (Dragons) 29 - Tatsuya Shimizu (Dragons) 24 - Javy Guerra (Tigers) 23 - Daichi Ishii (Tigers) Saves 33 - Raidel Martínez (Dragons) 32 - Ryoji Kuribayashi (Carp) 20 - Kohei Morihara (BayStars) 19 - Taisei Ota (Giants) 18 - Suguru Iwazaki (Tigers)