Sunday 31 March Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2024-03-31 Eagles-Lions went 11 innings
The reigning Central League and Japan Series champion Hanshin Tigers went scoreless in their first 25-2/3 innings of the new season but a 3-run home run from Shota Morishita in the 8th inning opened the door for the team's 5-0 victory over the Yomiuri Giants Sunday afternoon at the Tokyo Dome. Morishita went 1-for-3 with the homer, 3 RBIs and 1 walk. Giants starting pitcher Rei Takahashi threw a stellar 6 innings allowing just 1 hit and 2 walks with 1 strikeout. Hiroto Kobukata was 3-for-5 on the day, his sacrifice fly in the 11th inning driving home pinch runner Konosuke Tatsumi as the Rakuten Eagles avoided getting swept by the Seibu Lions with the 4-3 win. Second baseman Shuta Tonosaki led the Seibu attack going 3-for-5 with 1 RBI.
Congratulations to Kendai Takasaki who defeated Hotoku Gakuen 3-2 to win the Senbatsu 'Spring Koshien' tournament on Sunday. 健大高崎、悲願の初優勝！！９回にエース佐藤投手が登板し、接戦を制する！！センバツLIVE!は全試合ライブ配信📣https://t.co/ynv7B6Cr2X#センバツLIVE pic.twitter.com/R50Xt7KWtr— センバツLIVE! (@SenbatsuLIVE) March 31, 2024
Not really NPB-related but... Shohei vs. YoshinobuThe guys sat with each other for Playground Compliments, a new in-game feature where they try to make each other laugh. 😂 pic.twitter.com/lP1FThY4Jy— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 1, 2024
Tuesday 2 April Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2024-04-02 Dragons-Giants went 11 innings
In his debut with his new club, Cody Ponce recorded 6 strikeouts over 5 innings and picked up the win against his former teammates as the Rakuten Golden Eagles held on late for a 4-2 victory over the Nippon-Ham Fighters Tuesday night at Es Con Field Hokkaido. Veteran southpaw Sachiya Yamasaki, who spent his first 9 seasons as part of the Orix Buffaloes excellent pitching staff, made his own debut with the Fighters and pitched 4 shutout innings before surrendering a two-out two-run home run in the 5th to Itsuki Murabayashi, just the fourth homer of the infielder's 7-year career. Tsuyoshi Ishihara added an insurance run in the 9th with his first career home run. Ariel Martínez and Chusei Mannami drove in Nippon-Ham's two runs as the Fighters took a tough loss in their home opener. Seiya Hosokawa homered off Kota Nakagawa in the 11th inning to give the Chunichi Dragons their first win of the new season, a come-from-behind 4-3 Sayonara win over the Yomiuri Giants in Nagoya Shūhei Takahashi led the Dragons offense with 2 hits and an RBI while Mikiya Tanaka's 2-out single in the 7th brought home pinch runner Gōki Oda to tie the score at 3-3. Makoto Kadowaki hit a modasho 3-for-5 for the Giants while Kazuma Okamoto and Hayato Sakamoto had two hits apiece in a losing effort.
On Wednesday NPB Commissioner Sadayuki Sakakibara responded during an interview that MLB's opening series for 2025 will be played on 19 and 20 March. In January he had stated that the games would probably be held at the Tokyo Dome. But when asked today about reports revealing that arrangements are being made to hold the series at Es Con Field Hokkaido - the new home of the Nippon-Ham Fighters - Sakakibara was non-committed: "I think (the decision) is still to come." The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani began his professional career with the Fighters where he played for 5 seasons (2013-2017) before moving to MLB in 2018.
Wednesday 3 April Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2024-04-03 Carp-Swallows postponed (rain) Hawks-Marines went 12 innings
In a pitching duel between two bright young prospects, 22 year old southpaw rookie Natsuki Takeuchi outdueled 21 year old sophomore pro Shunpeita Yamashita to help lead the Seibu Lions to a 3-0 shutout victory over the Orix Buffaloes at the Belluna Dome in Tokorozawa, Saitama on Wednesday night. Making his NPB debut, Takeuchi demonstrated why he was selected by 3 teams in last October's NPB Draft by allowing just 1 hit and 2 walks while fanning 7 batters in 7 scoreless innings. He threw 85 pitches total. Yamashita, the Pacific League's Rookie of the Year last season, said after the game that he felt good but just could not find his command, walking 7 batters with 1 hit batter and allowing 2 hits that led to 2 earned runs for the Lions. He threw 99 pitches over 5-plus innings, recording 5 strikeouts. His fastball topped out at 156 km/h (97 mph) Venezuelan MLB veteran Jesús Aguilar led Seibu at the plate with 2 hits and an RBI to earn co-Hero honors. Shota Morishita's two-run home run in the 6th inning overturned a 2-1 deficit in to a 3-2 lead as the Hanshin Tigers evened their series against the Yokohama DeNA BayStars following their 5-2 win in Osaka. Masashi Itoh pitched 7 innings to pick up the win for the Tigers and Koji Chikamoto also homered to add two insurance runs in the 8th. Tyler Austin, who missed significant time the past two seasons due to an elbow injury, hit a first inning home run as he looks to recapture the power he had his first two years in Yokohama when he hit a combined 48 home runs in 2020-2021.
Kohei Azuma allowed 1 run on 3 hits over 7 innings to help lead the Orix Buffaloes to a 2-1 win over the Seibu Lions Thursday afternoon in Saitama. In picking up the win Azuma became just the second pitcher in Japanese professional baseball history to win 8 consecutive decisions since making his starting debut in 2022. Hideo Fujimoto of the Yomiuri Giants holds the all-time professional record with 10 straight wins during the pre-NPB era in 1942. Kenya Wakatsuki aand Tomoya Mori drove in the runs that earned Orix the victory. 34 year old Tomoyuki Sugano discovered the fountain of youth at the Vantelin Dome in Nagoya hurling 7 scoreless innings as the Yomiuri Giants avoided being swept by the Chunichi Dragons with a 2-0 shutout win. The 2-time Sawamura Award winner also drew a leadoff walk in the 3rd inning that began the two-run rally that would hold up for the rest of the game. Closer Taisei Ota secured the win by striking out the side in the 9th with his fastball hitting 160 kmh (99 mph). link to highlights https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/game/2021020029/video/player/13675775 Pro Yakyu version
Friday 5 April Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2024-04-05 Swallows-Tigers went 10 innings Fighters-Lions went 12 innings
Kazuya Ojima tossed the first complete game shutout of 2024 as the Chiba Lotte Marines edged the Orix Buffaloes 1-0 Friday night at ZOZO Marine Stadium. Ojima allowed only 4 hits and a walk while striking out 6 in the 105 pitches he threw. Ojima's outing overshadowed that of his opposite number, fellow southpaw Hiroya Miyagi, who gave up 6 hits and 1 walk with 5 strikeouts in 7 innings of work. The game's only run came in the 4th inning when Hiromi Oka doubled off Miyagi allowing Kenta Chatani to score all the way from first. Lotte's new signing Neftali Soto led both teams with two hits. Teruaki Sato broke out of a 3-for-25 season slump by crushing a 10th inning home run to give the Hanshin Tigers a come-from-behind 7-6 win over the Yakult Swallows at Meiji Jingu Stadium in Tokyo. Hanshin trailed the Swallows 3 times over the course of the game and scored 2 runs in the 9th to send the contest into extra frames. Nippon Series Game 7 hero Sheldon Neuse also connected for his first homer of the year. Domingo Santana led the Yakult attack going 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs. Link to highlights https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/game/2021020035/video/player/13691936 Pro Yakyu version
SFGate article on Nippon-Ham Fighters manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo (aka 'BigBoss') who spent 3 years in MLB with the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants. https://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/sf-giants-player-managing-japan-living-best-life-19385447.php
35 year old Yuki Yanagita's first home run of the year flipped a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead in the 8th inning, and a 2-run rally in the 9th propelled the SoftBank Hawks to a 5-4 victory over the Rakuten Golden Eagles at Miyagi Park in Sendai on Saturday. Former reliever/closer Livan Moinelo made his second career start for the Hawks and followed up his strong 8-inning outing against the Orix Buffaloes last week with a 6-inning no-hit performance against the Eagles that saw him fan 6 batters while walking 3. He threw 98 pitches total. Rakuten's Kosei Shoji also flirted with a no-hitter before surrendering SoftBank's first hit in the 6th, the only base hit he allowed over 7 innings. He also walked 3 while striking out 8. Seiya Hosokawa knocked out his third home run of the season as the Chunichi Dragons blanked the Hiroshima Carp 4-0 at Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium. Hosokawa ended his afternoon going 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs and a run scored. Dragons starting pitcher Hideaki Wakui went 6-1/3 shutout innings to pick up his first win of the year and has now pitched 12-1/3 innings without giving up a run. American Thomas Hatch made his NPB debut allowing 3 earned runs on 8 hits and a walk with 4 strikeouts in 5 innings of work.
Daichi Suzuki hit a liner into the right field corner that allowed Hideto Asamura to easily trot home from second base to give the Rakuten Eagles a sayonara 3-2 win over the SoftBank Hawks on Sunday afternoon. Ryosuke Tatsumi led the Eagles at the plate going 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored. Yuki Yanagita had given SoftBank the lead in the 3rd inning with a 2-RBI single although he was thrown out attempting to take second base on the throw home. Just as he had done in his first outing last Sunday, Rei Takahashi pitched another 6 shutout innings to help lead the Yomiuri Giants to a 3-0 victory over the Yokohama DeNA BayStars at the Tokyo Dome. Hayato Sakamoto's 2-RBI single in the first inning held up as the game winning hit as the Kyojin avoided being swept by the current Central League leaders.
BATTING Average .370 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) .364 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) .360 - Haruki Nishikawa (Swallows) .345 - Toshiro Miyazaki (BayStars) .344 - Jose Osuna (Swallows) On-Base Percentage .447 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) .444 - Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) .441 - Toshiro Miyazaki (BayStars) .432 - Jose Osuna (Swallows) .419 - Haruki Nishikawa (Swallows) OPS 1.023 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) .990 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) .932 - Jose Osuna (Swallows) .899 - Haruki Nishikawa (Swallows) .889 - Toshiro Miyazaki (BayStars) Home Runs 3 - Seiya Hosokawa (Dragons) 2 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) 2 - Sho Nakata (Dragons) 2 - Ryuki Watarai (BayStars) 2 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) 2 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) RBIs 8 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) 7 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) 6 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) 6 - Ryuki Watarai (BayStars) 5 - Haruki Nishikawa (Swallows) 5 - Toshiro Miyazaki (BayStars) AVG with RISP .750 - Haruki Nishikawa (Swallows) .700 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) .571 - Mikiya Tanaka (Dragons) .500 - 4 players tied Stolen Bases 2 - Takayoshi Noma (Carp) 2 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) 2 - Yasutaka Shiomi (Swallows) 1 - 15 players tied PITCHING ERA 0.00 - Hideaki Wakui (Dragons) 0.00 - Rei Takahashi (Giants) 0.75 - Yūya Yanagi (Dragons) 0.87 - Foster Griffin (Giants) 1.38 - Shosei Togo (Giants) WHIP 0.58 - Rei Takahashi (Giants) 0.80 - Aren Kuri (Carp) 0.83 - Humberto Mejía (Dragons) 0.91 - Shinichi Ohnuki (BayStars) 1.00 - Shosei Togo (Giants) Innings pitched 15.0 - Aren Kuri (Carp) 14.0 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 13.0 - Shosei Togo (Giants) 13.0 - Kojiro Yoshimura (Swallows) 12.1 - Hideaki Wakui (Dragons) Strikeouts 17 - Kojiro Yoshimura (Swallows) 13 - Shosei Togo (Giants) 12 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 11 - Miguel Yajure (Swallows) 10 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) 10 - Aren Kuri (Carp) Wins 2 - Taiga Kamichatani (BayStars) 2 - Miguel Yajure (Swallows) 1 - 21 players tied Holds 5 - Akiyoshi Katsuno (Dragons) 4 - Yuhi Nishidate (Giants) 4 - Koki Saito (Dragons) 4 - Taichi Ishiyama (Swallows) 3 - 4 players tied Saves 3 - Raidel Martínez (Dragons) 3 - Yasuaki Yamasaki (BayStars) 2 - Suguru Iwazaki (Tigers) 2 - Ryoji Kuribayashi (Carp) 2 - Taisei Ota (Giants) 2 - Kohei Morihara (BayStars)
BATTING Average .458 - Yua Tamiya (Fighters) .375 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) .367 - Yuki Yanagita (Hawks) .345 - Tatsuki Mizuno (Fighters) .333 - Sosuke Genda (Lions) .333 - Yuto Koga (Lions) On-Base Percentage .474 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) .474 - Yuki Yanagita (Hawks) .458 - Yua Tamiya (Fighters) .387 - Sosuke Genda (Lions) .385 - Jesús Aguilar (Lions) OPS 1.117 - Kenta Imamiya (Hawks) 1.007 - Yuki Yanagita (Hawks) 1.005 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) 1.000 - Yua Tamiya (Fighters) .861 - Yuto Koga (Lions) Home Runs 2 - Kenta Imamiya (Hawks) 1 - 16 players tied RBIs 9 - Yuki Yanagita (Hawks) 6 - Ryusei Satoh (Lions) 5 - Shuta Tonosaki (Lions) 5 - Chusei Mannami (Fighters) 5 - Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) AVG with RISP .500 - Yuki Yanagita (Hawks) .500 - Yua Tamiya (Fighters) .500 - Tatsuki Mizuno (Fighters) .429 - Sosuke Genda (Lions) .375 - Koki Yamaguchi (Marines) Stolen Bases 3 - Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) 2 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) 2 - Hiroto Kobukata (Eagles) 2 - Yuji Kaneko (Lions) 1 - 15 players tied PITCHING ERA 0.64 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) 0.69 - Anderson Espinoza (Buffaloes) 1.29 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 1.38 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) 1.42 - Chihiro Sumida (Lions) WHIP 0.50 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 0.69 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) 0.86 - Kazuya Ojima (Marines) 0.92 - Anderson Espinoza (Buffaloes) 0.93 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) Innings pitched 14.0 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) 14.0 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 14.0 - Kazuya Ojima (Marines) 13.1 - Hiroya Miyagi (Buffaloes) 13.0 - 3 players tied Strikeouts 16 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) 16 - Roki Sasaki (Marines) 15 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) 14 - Hiroya Miyagi (Buffaloes) 13 - Atsuki Taneichi (Marines) Wins 2 - Ryuji Kitaura (Fighters) 2 - Anderson Espinoza (Buffaloes) 2 - Chihiro Sumida (Lions) 1 - 20 players tied Holds 6 - Yuki Matsumoto (Hawks) 4 - Hiroshi Kaino (Lions) 4 - Hirokazu Sawamura (Marines) 4 - Keisuke Honda (Lions) 3 - 5 players tied Saves 4 - Albert Abreu (Lions) 4 - Roberto Osuna (Hawks) 2 - Rikuto Yokoyama (Marines) 2 - Yoshihisa Hirano (Buffaloes) 2 - Seigi Tanaka (Fighters)
A week after having a tough season debut, pitcher Shoki Murakami rebounded well on Tuesday in helping the Hanshin Tigers shutout the Hiroshima Carp 1-0 as the Tigers returned home to Koshien Stadium. Last Tuesday in Osaka Murakami lasted only 3 innings against the DeNA BayStars, allowing 5 runs with 4 runs coming in the very first inning. Tuesday night saw the Murakmai that earned him the Central League's MVP and Rookie of the Year honors last year as he went 7 innings allowing just 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 8 batters. Murakami also had a role in the lone run of the contest in the fifth inning as he sacrificed Seiya Kinami to second base, Kinami then scored on a Koji Chikamoto single to right off Hiroshima starter Hiroki Tokoda for the game's only run. For the Carp it marked the fourth consecutive game they've been shutout after getting swept at home over the wekend by the Chunichi Dragons. Tuesday night also saw the beginning of games being played at 'countryside' venues with three games taking place in rural areas including the Swallows hosting the Giants in Kagoshima and the Hawks hosting the Fighters in neighboring Kumamoto. At Omiya Ballpark in the Saitama prefecture, Yuji Nishino struck out 8 batters over 7 innings as the Lotte Marines handed the Seibu Lions their first shutout loss of the season with a 5-0 win. Shogo Nakamura and Tatsuhiro Tamura led the Marines offense with 2 RBIs each. Lions' starting pitcher Kaima Taira gave up three of the runs on 7 hits and a walk but also fanned a respectable 8 Lotte batters in his seven innings of work.
The fight song (応援歌 / ouenka) by the cheering section (応援団 / ōendan) of the Chiba Lotte Marines for off-season free agent acquisition Neftali Soto, who had been with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars since 2018 before signing with the Marines in December..