Tuesday 28 May (セ・パ交流戦) Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2024-05-28 Tigers-Fighters postponed (rain) Swallows-Marines was called after 5 innings (rain) BayStars-Eagles was called with two outs in the top of the 7th inning (rain)
It was Sadaharu Oh Day at the Tokyo Dome on Tuesday where the Yomiuri Giants, the team Oh played his entire 22 year career with, hosted the SoftBank Hawks, the team he managed (1995-2008) and is currently an executive (since 2009) in perhaps the most anticipated of the six midweek series' that kicked off Interleague play. Now 84, Oh is the all-time home run leader with 868 bombs. Hawks third baseman Ryoya Kurihara was the only player to record two hits in the game including a solo home run in the 5th inning which turned out to be the game-winning hit en route to a 2-0 win. It was Kurihara's third homer of the season Formewr Texas Ranger Kohei Arihara pitched 6 innings of shutout ball to gain his fifth win of the year. Closer Roberto Osuna set down the Giants in order for his 12th save. New Yomiuri import Elier Hernandez, who was signed to replace Rougned Odor (who left the team after refusing to start the season in the minors) recorded his first NPB base hit in his debut at-bat off Arihara, his former Triple-A teammate with the Round Rock Express. Before the game one of the ceremonial first pitches was thrown by 83 year old Hall of Famer Isao Harimoto, the only player to achieve 3000 base hits exclusively in NPB. Harimoto also ranks seventh in home runs (509) and his 319 stolen bases places him as the only player in NPB history to have the unusual combination of 3,000 hits, 500 home runs and 300 stolen bases, a set of milestones reached only by Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez in MLB. Former Kyojin manager Tatsunori Hara also threw out a ceremonial first pitch. Alex Dickerson hit his second home run in three games in helping the Chunichi Dragons to a 3-0 shutout win over thew Seibu Lions in Nagoya. Dragons starting pitcher Hiroto Takahashi went 7-1/3 innings allowing just four hits and one walk to up his record to 2-0 while Cuban closer Raidel Martínez earned save number 15 on the year. Dickerson's home run was the first round-tripper allowed in 2024 by Lions ace Tatsuya Imai who suffered his first loss in nine starts this season.
Along with the postponement of the Tigers-Fighters game at Koshien Stadium, rain played havoc in games at other outdoor ballparks on the first day of Interleague play. Pro Yakyu News, episode #63 Presenters: Yuka Ebihara and former BayStars player Yutaka Takagi Highlights... 03:17 Dragons-Lions 18:08 Giants-Hawks 31:46 Hiroki Tokoda has now allowed just 1 run in each of his last three starts as the Carp edged the Buffaloes. 39:58 The Eagles had the bases loaded when rain shut down their attempted comeback rally in Yokohama 46:48 Home runs from Katsuya Kakunaka and Toshiya Satō helped the Marines extend their unbeaten run to 11 games, winning their last eight.
Wednesday 29 May (セ・パ交流戦) Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2024-05-29 Giants-Hawks went 12 innings Swallows-Marines finished tied after 12 innings
It was absolute destruction at Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium Wednesday night where the Hiroshima Carp blasted the Orix Buffaloes 14-0. Masato Morishita held the defending Pacific League champions to just three hits with one walk over 7 innings, striking out five for his fourth win of the year. Hiroshima's starting pitcher also did damage with the bat going 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. American southpaw Taylor Hearn made his NPB debut in relief, striking out two in a perfect 8th inning. His fastball topped out at 154 kmh (96 mph). Veteran catcher Tsubasa Aizawa starred at the plate for the Carp going 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Shogo Akiyama and Kaito Kozono contributed with 3-hit modashos, two RBIS and a run scored for each while Shota Suekane knocked his fourth home run of the year. The 14 runs scored by the Carp was their highest Interleague total since 2005 (16 runs vs Orix) and it's just the third time ever that they have won their opening two Interleague games in a season (2013, 2017). It's the nadir for the Buffaloes, winners of the pennant the last three seasons and Nippon Series champions in 2022. The 14 runs were the most they've allowed in a game since June 2018, and with many players underachieving both on the mound and at the plate the team now sits tied for fourth place in the P.L. standings 12 games out of first place. Batting out of the leadoff spot for the first time this season, rookie Shun Mizutani went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in helping the Nippon-Ham Fighters defeat the Hanshin Tigers 8-2 at Koshien. After spending his first five seasons with the SoftBank Hawks minor league teams, Mizutani was acquired by the Fighters last December in the Selection Draft (NPB's version of MLB's Rule 5 Draft). On the farm this year he had hit eight home runs in 32 games which earned him a call up to the ichi-gun. On April 11 against his former team he recorded his first base hit and RBI in his NPB debut. The 24 year old outfielder's promotion to batting leadoff on Wednesday is a result of a .303 batting average he has achieved after his first ten games. Chusei Mannami followed Mizutani in the batting order and slugged his sixth home run of the year in the 5th inning while Yua Tamiya - the runaway leader for catcher in the Pacific League All-Star voting - went a modasho 3-for-4 including a double and two runs scored. Pitcher Hiromi Itoh went 5 innings to up his record to 4-0. Before the game Fighters manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo, who spent the first ten years of his playing career with the Tigers, continued his popular enthusiasm during pregame rituals by wearing a Tigers uniform while swapping lineup cards with his former teammate and current Hanshin manager, Akinobu Okada.
Thursday 30 May (セ・パ交流戦) Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2024-05-30 Swallows-Marines finished tied after 12 innings
In March 2010 17 year old slugging pitcher Sachiya Yamasaki led his team, Third Senior High School of Nihon University, to the final of the 82nd National Invitational 'Spring Koshien' tournament. In the six games played by his team he had 13 hits, which tied the tournament's all-time record. Drafted by the Orix Buffaloes of the Pacific League - which employs the designated hitter - Yamasaki only got in the batters box as a professional whenever the Buffaloes played Interleague games in ballparks of the Central League, where the DH is not used and pitchers are required to bat. And yet in his 22 career plate appearances in NPB he still gained a reputation of being a tough out with a .273 batting average with six hits including a double, and he had only struck out twice. Yamasaki is now in his first season with the Nippon-Ham Fighters whose manager, the flamboyant Tsuyoshi Shinjo, has not been one to shy away from unconventional methods. On Thursday Shinjo placed starting pitcher Yamasaki sixth in the starting lineup against the Hanshin Tigers (at Koshien Stadium) and the veteran player delivered with an RBI single and run scored in a four-run 4th inning en route to a 6-0 win. Yamasaki also drew his first career walk in his initial plate appearance. The Nippon-Ham left-handed ace was also stellar on the mound, allowing just three hits and a walk over 7 shutout innings lowering his ERA to 2.01 and becoming the first pitcher this season to win six games. The last pitcher to bat sixth in the starting lineup of an NPB game was another Fighters player (you-know-who) on 29 May 2016. Ariel Martínez and Go Matsumoto each scored twice for the Fighters who now sit just three games behind the SoftBank Hawks in the P.L. standings. Home runs from Elie Hernandez and Kazuma Okamoto flipped a 5-0 deficit into a 6-5 lead in the 3rd inning, and with Haruto Inoue pitching 4 shutout innings in relief the Yomiuri Giants were able to hold on for the victory against the SoftBank Hawks at the Tokyo Dome. For Hernandez, the three-run bomb was his first career homer in NPB while Okamoto's two-run shot was his 10th on the year, the seventh consecutive season the Giants first baseman has hit double digit home runs.
Brief highlights from the final day of the opening series of Interleague play. - For the second straight game the Marines scored in the 9th inning as their game against the Swallows finished in another 3-3 tie. Lotte are now unbeaten in their last 13 games (9-0-4). - Rookie southpaw Natsuki Takeuchi improved his record to 4-0 as the Lions defeated the Dragons. - Yuma Tongu had 3 RBIs and scored a run as the Buffaloes ended their four game losing streak in Hiroshima. - Two home runs from Toshiro Miyazaki were not enough as the BayStars lost to the Eagles.
Friday 31 May (セ・パ交流戦) Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2024-05-31 Fighters-BayStars went 10 innings Marines-Tigers went 10 innings
Maikel Franco hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Rakuten Eagles a come-from-behind 5-3 victory over the Yakult Swallows on Friday. Franco's blast into the left field bleachers made him the first player in the Eagles' 20 year history to hit a pinch-hit Sayonara home run. For the Swallows, it marked the third consecutive night their bullpen lost the lead in the 9th inning. The game was played at Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium, the only Interleague game scheduled this year to be played at a 'countryside' ballpark. The two teams will take the Shinkansen to Sendai to finish their three-game series at Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi, the Eagles regular home stadium. 先輩後輩！🫶#筒香嘉智 選手#万波中正 選手#横浜高校#baystars pic.twitter.com/tbN8Dy68Bp— 横浜DeNAベイスターズ (@ydb_yokohama) May 31, 2024 The Yokohama DeNA BatStars scored a run in both the 9th and 10th innings for a comeback 4-3 win over the Nippon-Ham Fighters at Es Con Field Hokkaido. Before the game Chusei Mannami (class of 2018) and Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (class of 2009) posed together for a photograph and one wondered if the two alumni from Yokohama Senior High School had a bet on which player would hit the most home runs over their weekend series. If they did, Tsutsugo has the lead thanks to his solo home run in the 4th inning, his fourth round-tripper since returning from MLB. With the Fighters leading 3-2 in the 9th, Tyler Austin tied the score with a solo home run. Then in the 10th, Keito Mori doubled home Kouki Kajiwara from second base to put Yokohama in the lead. American reliever Rowan Wick closed out the game to pick up his first career save in NPB.,
A quick review (this won't become the norm) of Friday's Interleague games as it was the turn of the Pacific League to host the six games. - Hotaka Yamakawa scored the game winning run in the 8th inning off Ryoya Kurihara's sacrifice fly in the battle between the two League leaders. - Takeya Nakamura hit career home run #478 but it was in vain as Shosei Togo pitched the Giants to victory over the Lions. - Yuma Mune's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 9th scored Shō Gibo for Orix's sayonara against the Dragons. - The Marines literally walked off the Tigers when a bases loaded walk ended the night in Chiba.
Saturday 1 June (セ・パ交流戦) Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2024-06-01 Marines-Tigers went 11 innings
For the fourth consecutive game the Lotte Marines scored a run in the 9th inning to send the game into extra innings and went on to defeat the Hanshin Tigers 3-2 at ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba. Doubles by Shōgo Nakamura and Atsuki Tomosugi tied the score in the bottom of the 9th after Hanshin had taken the lead in the top half of the frame. Lotte then won it in the 11th on Aito Takeda's liner to deep right field which scored Tomosugi from second base for the sayonara. 19 year old Haruya Tanaka pitched five scoreless innings in an impressive NPB debut allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out six batters. The Marines are now unbeaten (11-0-4) in their last 15 games and have not tasted defeat since a sayonara loss to the Nippon-Ham Fighters back on May 11. After four games the Tigers have yet to chalk up an Interleague win. The Chunichi Dragons scored twice in the top of the 9th inning to flip a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 victory over the Orix Buffaloes in Osaka. Yōhei Ōshima singled home Hiroki Fukunaga to level the score at 1-1 and then Seiya Hosokawa scored the winning run on Kōta Ishibashi's sacrifice fly to right to complete the comeback win. Closer Raidel Martínez shut the door to earn his NPB-leading 16th save of the campaign. The Seibu Lions scored four runs over the final three innings capped by Hiyu Motoyama's RBI single to right for a 4-3 sayonara win over the Yomiuri Giants in Saitama.
One more quick highlight from Saturday. Daisuke Moriura of the Hiroshima Carp became the 19th pitcher in NPB history to throw an immaculate inning when he struck out SoftBank Hawks batters Tatsuru Yanagimachi, Naoki Satoh and Kenta Imamiya on nine pitches in the 7th inning of the Hawks 2-0 win.
Sunday 2 June (セ・パ交流戦) Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2024-06-02 Eagles-Swallows was called after 5 innings (rain) Buffaloes-Dragons went 12 innings Hawks-Carp went 10 innings
Kensuke Kondoh hit two home runs including a walk off two-run homer in the 10th inning to give the SoftBnk Hawks a three-game sweep of the Hiroshima Carp following their 5-3 win in Fukuoka. The Carp had sent the game into extra frames when Kosuke Tanaka unloaded a dramatic two-out three-run home run off Hawks reliever Darwinzon Hernández in the top of the 9th. The two home runs for Kondoh were his seventh and eighth of the year as he continues another big year that sees him leading the Pacific League in most major batting categories. Kondoh had been neck-and-neck on the stats page with teammate Yuki Yanagita but on Saturday the 35 year old star was diagnosed with a right thigh tendon injury that will require four months recovery which likely rules him out for the rest of the season. A popular player, the 35 year old 'Gita' has drawn comparisons with MLB's Mike Trout for the number of unlucky injury-plagued seasons the 9-time All-Star has suffered over his outstanding career. He still has two years remaining on his current contract. Shoki Morishita led off the game with a home run and Hiroto Saiki made it stand up with his third complete game shutout of the year as the Hanshin Tigers salvaged a win in their weekend series against the Chiba Lotte Marines with a tense 1-0 victory on Sunday. Seiki tossed 116 pitches total allowing six hits but no walks and fanned six batters to raise his record to 6-1 while lowering his ERA to 1.34 It was the sixth home run of 2024 for Morishita. The defeat snaps Lotte's unbeaten run of 15 consecutive games.
Munataka Murakami launched his 13th home run of the year and 44 year old Masanori Ishikawa officially recorded a complete game victory as the Yakult Swallows beat the Rakuten Eagles 4-0 in a game that was called after 5 innings because of rain in Sendai. It was an Interleague record 29th win for Ishikawa who picked up his first win of the season marking 23 consecutive years the Swallows southpaw has registered at least one win. Alex Dickerson hit his third home run of the campaign while Sho Nakata hit an RBI double in the 12th inning to give the Chunichi Dragons a 2-1 win over the Orix Buffaloes.
BATTING *3.1 plate appearances per the number of games played by that player's club to quality *Average .579 - Shun Mizutani (Fighters) .471 - Yua Tamiya (Fighters) .423 - Hideki Nagaoka (Swallows) .417 - Yoshihiro Maru (Giants) .409 - Ryusei Ogawa (Marines) .389 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) .385 - Naoki Yoshikawa (Giants) .375 - Elier Hernández (Giants) .375 - Atsuki Tomosugi (Marines) .350 - Hiroto Kobukata (Eagles) *On-Base Percentage .600 - Shun Mizutani (Fighters) .560 - Yuma Tongu (Buffaloes) .542 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) .500 - Yua Tamiya (Fighters) .500 - Yoshihiro Maru (Giants) .500 - Ryusei Ogawa (Marines) .429 - Naoki Yoshikawa (Giants) .423 - Hideki Nagaoka (Swallows) .423 - Elier Hernández (Giants) .421 - Soichiro Tateoka (Giants) *OPS 1.442 - Shun Mizutani (Fighters) 1.382 - Yua Tamiya (Fighters) 1.178 - Tatsuki Mizuno (Fighters) 1.077 - Hideki Nagaoka (Swallows) 1.042 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) 1.014 - Toshiro Miyazaki (BayStars) 1.000 - Yoshihiro Maru (Giants) .967 - Naoki Yoshikawa (Giants) .965 - Elier Hernández (Giants) .955 - Ryusei Ogawa (Marines) Home Runs 2 - Toshiro Miyazaki (BayStars) 2 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) 2 - Itsuki Murabayashi (Eagles) 2 - Alex Dickerson (Dragons) 1 - 29 players tied RBIs 6 - Hideki Nagaoka (Swallows) 6 - Tatsuki Mizuno (Fighters) 6 - Toshiro Miyazaki (BayStars) 5 - Shun Mizutani (Fighters) 5 - Naoki Yoshikawa (Giants) 5 - Elier Hernández (Giants) 5 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) 5 - Itsuki Murabayashi (Eagles) 4 - 8 players tied AVG with RISP 1.000 - Shun Mizutani (Fighters) .750 - Yuya Ogo (Eagles) .667 - Tatsuki Mizuno (Fighters) .600 - Ryusei Ogawa (Marines) .571 - Naoki Yoshikawa (Giants) .571 - Elier Hernández (Giants) .500 - Yoshihiro Maru (Giants) .500 - Hideki Nagaoka (Swallows) .500 - Shogo Akiyama (Carp) .500 - Toshiro Miyazaki (BayStars) .500 - Junichiro Kishi (Lions) .500 - Yuma Tongu (Buffaloes) Stolen Bases 3 - Ryosuke Tatsumi (Eagles) 2 - Atsuki Tomosugi (Marines) 2 - Hiroki Fukunaga (Dragons) 2 - Keita Nakagawa (Buffaloes) 2 - Naoki Satoh (Hawks) 2 - Shinnosuke Shigenobu (Giants) 1 - 23 players tied PITCHING *Minimum innings equal to the number of games played by that pitcher's club to quality *ERA 0.00 - 21 players tied *WHIP 0.43 - Tomohisa Ohzeki (Hawks) 0.50 - Chihiro Sumida (Lions) 0.57 - Masato Morishita (Carp) 0.57 - Ryuhei Sotani (Buffaloes) 0.57 - Shosei Togo (Giants) 0.57 - Humberto Mejía (Dragons) 0.60 - Haruya Tanaka (Marines) 0.60 - Tsuyoshi Wada (Hawks) 0.63 - Cristopher Mercedes (Marines) 0.67 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) 0.67 - Tomotaka Matsui (Eagles) 0.67 - Atsuki Taneichi (Marines) Innings pitched 9.0 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) 8.0 - Chihiro Sumida (Lions) 8.0 - Shinnosuke Ogasawara (Dragons) 8.0 - Cristopher Mercedes (Marines) 8.0 - Shoma Kanemura (Fighters) 7.1 - Hiroto Takahashi (Dragons) 7.0 - 16 players tied Strikeouts 11 - Darwinzon Hernández (Hawks) 9 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 9 - Shoma Kanemura (Fighters) 8 - Daichi Ohsera (Carp) 8 - Sachiya Yamasaki (Fighters) 8 - Takayuki Kato (Fighters) 8 - Kojiro Yoshimura (Swallows) 7 - 7 players tied Wins 1 - 33 players tied Holds 3 - Yuhei Takanashi (Giants) 3 - Tatsuya Shimizu (Dragons) 3 - Darwinzon Hernández (Hawks) 2 - 17 players tied Saves 3 - Raidel Martínez (Dragons) 3 - Roberto Osuna (Hawks) 2 - Albert Abreu (Lions) 1 - Kohei Morihara (BayStars) 1 - Ryoji Kuribayashi (Carp) 1 - Takahiro Norimoto (Eagles) 1 - Rowan Wick (BayStars) 1 - Yuhi Nishidate (Giants) 1 - Alberto Baldonado (Giants)
Updated online voting totals as of Monday 3 June. CENTRAL LEAGUE STARTING PITCHER 173,687 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) 88,386 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 73,810 - Tomoyuki Sugano (Giants) RELIEF PITCHER 214,104 - Suguru Iwazaki (Tigers) 141,164 - Yuhi Nishidate (Giants) 82,441 - Kohei Morihara (BayStars) CLOSER 344,597 - Raidel Martínez (BayStars) 116,535 - Javy Guerra (Tigers) 109,300 - Ryoji Kuribayashi (Carp) CATCHER 233,721 - Yuudai Yamamoto (BayStars) 140,583 - Yuhei Nakamura (Swallows) 127,591 - Seishirō Sakamoto (Tigers) FIRST BASE 343,418 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) 159,772 - Sho Nakata (Dragons) 138,454 - Yusuke Ohyama (Tigers) SECOND BASE 246,984 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) 222,656 - Takumu Nakano (Tigers) 131,154 - Mikiya Tanaka (Dragons) THIRD BASE 377,076 - Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) 149,946 - Hayato Sakamoto (Giants) 125,748 - Toshiro Miyazaki (BayStars) SHORTSTOP 196,074 - Kaito Muramatsu (Dragons) 192,680 - Hideki Nagaoka (Swallows) 149,550 - Seiya Kinami (Tigers) OUTFIELD 392,103 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) 354,251 - Seiya Hosokawa (Dragons) 273,297 - Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (BayStars) 228,053 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) 206,346 - Shōta Morishita (Tigers) PACIFIC LEAGUE STARTING PITCHER 263,497 - Sachiya Yamasaki (Fighters) 137,503 - Rōki Sasaki (Marines) 114,990 - Hiroya Miyagi (Buffaloes) RELIEF PITCHER 286,586 - Ryusei Kawano (Fighters) 142,399 - Yuki Matsumoto (Hawks) 133,052 - Andrés Machado (Buffaloes) CLOSER 404,469 - Seigi Tanaka (Fighters) 167,407 - Takahiro Norimoto (Eagles) 131,048 - Roberto Osuna (Hawks) CATCHER 411,109 - Yua Tamiya (Fighters) 183,237 - Tomoya Mori (Buffaloes) 148,523 - Takuya Kai (Hawks) FIRST BASE 361,170 - Ariel Martinez (Fighters) 198,182 - Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) 156,577 - Neftalí Soto (Marines) SECOND BASE 236,788 - Daigo Kamikawabata (Fighters) 192,246 - Shuta Tonosaki (Lions) 164,500 - Taisei Makihara (Hawks) THIRD BASE 384,070 - Yūya Gunji (Fighters) 186,325 - Yuma Mune (Buffaloes) 151,280 - Ryoya Kurihara (Hawks) SHORTSTOP 230,901 - Tatsuki Mizuno (Fighters) 226,095 - Kotaro Kurebayashi (Buffaloes) 218,674 - Sosuke Genda (Lions) OUTFIELD 501,016 - Chusei Mannami (Fighters) 401,277 - Yuki Yanagita (Hawks) 352,492 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) 280,886 - Go Matsumoto (Fighters) 231,160 - Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) DESIGNATED HITTER 230,510 - Takeya Nakamura (Lions) 155,822 - Leandro Cedeño (Buffaloes) 152,904 - Gregory Polanco (Marines) Voting continues until Sunday 23 June. あなたの1票が歴史を決める！「マイナビオールスターゲーム2024」に出場する選手を選ぶファン投票を実施中！受付は6/23（日）まで！https://t.co/OSGvTp6Q6D#NPB #オールスターゲーム #ファン投票 pic.twitter.com/loA4TgNjva— 日本野球機構（NPB） (@npb) June 1, 2024
Tuesday 4 June (セ・パ交流戦) Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2024-06-04 Swallows-Lions went 10 innings Tigers-Eagles went 10 innings
Kojiro Yoshimura took a no-hitter into the 7th inning while Tatsuya Imai was one out away from a complete game and yet neither pitcher figured into the decision following the Yakult Swallows 4-3 defeat of the Seibu Lions Tuesday night at Meiji Jingu. Yoshimura defended a 1st inning 1-0 lead by keeping the Lions hitless through 6 frames but then lost the no-no, the shutout and the lead when Shuta Tonosaki sent the first pitch pf the 7th into the left field bleachers to make it 1-1. Four batters later Yoshimura was pulled after allowing two more hits that allowed Seibu to take the lead when pinch runner Junichirō Kishi scored on a double from pinch hitter Takumi Kuriyama. It was the 400th career two-base hit for the 40 year old Kuriyama who made his NPB debut with the Lions in 2004. Yoshimura left the game having recorded nine strikeouts. Imai was even more dominant for the visitors, fasnning 10 batters throughout. But leading 3-1 in the 9th the Lions ace missed out on a complete game when he was removed with two outs after surrendering two walks. Imai tossed 129 pitches total. Dominican reliever Albert Abreu, in his first season in Japan, gave up a two-run double to Yakult's reliable veteran Tetsuto Yamada to send the game into extra innings. It was Yamada's 300th double of his career. The Swallows then walked off the game when Lions third baseman Natsuo Takizawa's throwing error to first allowed Naoki Matsumoto to race home from second with the sayonara run. Ryoya Kurihara singled in Riku Ogata from second base in the top of the 9th inning to provide the winning run in the SoftBank Hawks 3-2 win over the Chunichi Dragons at the Vantelin Dome in Nagoya. The run was scored off Chunichi's Raidel Martinez, just the second game in 27 appearances this year that the intimidating 193cm Cuban closer has conceded a run.
Interleague play returned to Central League ballparks as Round 3 began on Tuesday. - The Giants tied a C.L. record with 9 consecutive singles in an 12-hit, 11-run 3rd inning against the Marines. - The Fighters denied Hiroki Tokoda his seventh win of the year. - The Eagles needed an extra frame to win at Koshien. - Two-RBIs from Tyler Austin led the BayStars to victory over the struggling Buffaloes.