The BayStars' win in extra innings completed a six-game sweep of Sunday's games for the Central League, a measure of revenge for the Pacific League's sweep just four days ago. It's the fourth time in Interleague history that the Sentoraru Rīgu won a full slate of games against the Pashifikku Rīgu.
BATTING *To qualify: 3.1 plate appearances per the number of games played by that player's club Average .583 - Tatsuru Yanagimachi (Hawks) .556 - Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) .476 - José Osuna (Swallows) .421 - Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (BayStars) .385 - Kaito Kozono (Carp) .381 - Chusei Mannami (Fighters) .364 - Yutaro Sugimoto (Buffaloes) .360 - Shota Suekane (Carp) .346 - Yūki Okabayashi (Dragons) .346 - Sandro Fabian (Carp) On-Base Percentage .652 - Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) .615 - Tatsuru Yanagimachi (Hawks) .560 - Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (BayStars) .542 - José Osuna (Swallows) .458 - Chusei Mannami (Fighters) .458 - Hideto Asamura (Eagles) .450 - Akira Nakamura (Hawks) .423 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) .417 - Yutaro Sugimoto (Buffaloes) .417 - Ryūki Watarai (BayStars) OPS 1.507 - Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (BayStars) 1.324 - Tatsuru Yanagimachi (Hawks) 1.304 - José Osuna (Swallows) 1.263 - Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) 1.125 - Chusei Mannami (Fighters) 1.093 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) 1.075 - Isami Nomura (Hawks) 1.014 - Hideto Asamura (Eagles) 1.008 - Yutaro Sugimoto (Buffaloes) .995 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) Home Runs 4 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) 3 - Isami Nomura (Hawks) 2 - Ryui Itoh (Swallows) 2 - Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (BayStars) 2 - Chusei Mannami (Fighters) 2 - Keita Sano (BayStars) 2 - Yusuke Ohyama (Tigers) 2 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) 1 - 28 players tied RBIs 8 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) 8 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) 7 - Tatsuru Yanagimachi (Hawks) 7 - Isami Nomura (Hawks) 6 - Ryūki Watarai (BayStars) 5 - Yukinori Kishida (Giants) 4 - 8 players tied AVG with RISP 1.000 - Hideto Asamura (Eagles) .750 - Tatsuru Yanagimachi (Hawks) .667 - Tyler Nevin (Lions) .667 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) .667 - Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) .600 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) .600 - Isami Nomura (Hawks) .500 - 8 players tied Stolen Bases 3 - Ryutaro Hatsuki (Carp) 3 - Yūki Okabayashi (Dragons) 2 - Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) 2 - Yōhei Ōshima (Dragons) 2 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) 2 - Tai Sasaki (Carp) 2 - Tai Sasaki (Carp) 2 - Manaya Nishikawa (Lions) 2 - Ryosuke Kikuchi (Carp) 2 - Mikiya Tanaka (Dragons) PITCHING *Minimum innings equal to the number of games played by that pitcher's club. ERA 0.00 - Shohei Mori (Carp) 0.00 - Chihiro Sumida (Lions) 0.00 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) 0.00 - Jun Maeda (Hawks) 0.00 - Shoki Murakami (Tigers) 0.00 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) *In all, 22 qualified pitchers have an ERA of 0.00. Those listed have pitched at least 8 innings. WHIP 0.33 - Iori Yamasaki (Giants) 0.38 - Jun Maeda (Hawks) 0.43 - Anthony Kay (BayStars) 0.43 - Kohei Azuma (Buffaloes) 0.43 - Tomohisa Ohzeki (Hawks) 0.43 - Pedro Ávila (Swallows) 0.45 - Jon Duplantier (Tigers) 0.50 - Shoki Murakami (Tigers) 0.57 - Haruya Tanaka (Marines) 0.63 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) Innings pitched 9.0 - Shohei Mori (Carp) 9.0 - Trevor Bauer (BayStars) 9.0 - Naoyuki Uwasawa (Hawks) 9.0 - Iori Yamasaki (Giants) 9.0 - Hiroki Tokoda (Carp) 8.2 - Chihiro Sumida (Lions) 8.0 - 8 players tied Strikeouts 18 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 12 - Jon Duplantier (Tigers) 10 - Jun Maeda (Hawks) 9 - Haruya Tanaka (Marines) 9 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) 8 - Shosei Togo (Giants) 8 - Shohei Mori (Carp) 8 - Atsuki Taneichi (Marines) 7 - 7 players tied Wins 1 - Shohei Mori (Carp) 1 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) 1 - Jun Maeda (Hawks) 1 - Shosei Togo (Giants) 1 - Anthony Kay (BayStars) 1 - Takahiro Matsuba (Dragons) 1 - Shuta Ishikawa (Marines) 1 - Kohei Arihara (Hawks) 1 - Tomohisa Ohzeki (Hawks) 1 - Jon Duplantier (Tigers) *In all, 35 players have 1 win. Those listed are based on ERA and innings pitched. Holds 2 - Nobuyoshi Yamada (Buffaloes) 2 - Kota Nakagawa (Giants) 2 - Tomoya Hoshi (Swallows) 2 - Tatsuya Shimizu (Dragons) 2 - Atsuki Yuasa (Tigers) 2 - Shunsuke Nakamori (Marines) 2 - Luis Perdomo (Buffaloes) 2 - Masaki Oyokawa (Tigers) 2 - Taisho Tamai (Fightrers) Saves 2 - Taichi Ishiyama (Swallows) 2 - Shinya Matsuyama (Dragons) 2 - Seigi Tanaka (Fighters) 1 - Taisei Irie (BayStars) 1 - Taylor Hearn (Carp) 1 - Kaima Taira (Lions) 1 - Takahiro Norimoto (Eagles) 1 - Raidel Martínez (Giants) 1 - Daichi Ishii (Tigers) 1 - Andrés Machado (Buffaloes) 1 - Ren Kajiya (Eagles) 1 - Shota Suzuki (Marines)
The Seibu Lions rallied for four runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to produce that dramatic come-from-behind 4-2 victory over the Hanshin Tigers at the Bewlluna Dome in Saitama. The Lions scattered five hits and one walk during the rally to overturn a 2-0 deficit against the leaders of the Central League. Kaima Taira struck out the side in the 9th to earn his 14th save of the year. Toshiya Sato had two RBIs and two runs scored to help lead the Lotte Marines to a 6-1 downing of the Hiroshima Carp at ZOZOMarine Stadium in Chiba. Marines starter Bryan Sammons took a no-hitter into the 8th inning where it was broken up by Takashi Uemoto's leadoff double, the Carp's only hit of the night. Sammons was removed after walking the next batter to end his line at one earned run on one hit and two walks allowed while striking out four. Allen Kuri struck out 9 batters over 8 shutout innings to help lead the Orix Buffaloes to a 2-0 blanking of the Yokohama BayStars. Kuri allowed just four hits and one walk for his fifth win of the season. Yutaro Sugimoto had the game winning hit when his solo home run in the 5th inning broke the scoreless deadlock. Katsuki Azuma pitched well in defeat for Yokohama, allowing the two runs on five hits and no walks over 8 innings.
The countryside venue of Kirayaka Stadium in Yamagata City was the site of the Central League's only Interleague victory on Tuesday, a 3-1 win for the Chunichi Dragons over the Rakuten Eagles. The Dragons scored all three runs in the 7th inning including two unearned runs when Hideto Asamura was unable to field Seiji Uebayashi's sharp liner to first with the bases loaded. Itsuki Murabayashi hit his third home run of the year for the Eagles.
NPB Players of the Month - May 2025 CENTRAL LEAGUE - PITCHER RHP Shoki Murakami - Hanshin Tigers (2nd time award winner) 5 starts 3 wins 0 losses 2 complete games 2 complete game shutouts 39 innings pitched 28 strikeouts 3 runs allowed 3 earned runs allowed 0.69 ERA CENTRAL LEAGUE - BATTER IF Shugo Maki - Yokohama BayStars (4th time award winner) 24 games 99 official at-bats 34 hits .343 batting average 7 home runs 19 runs batted in .646 slugging percentage .383 on base percentage PACIFIC LEAGUE - PITCHER RHP Tatsuya Imai - Seibu Lions (2nd time award winner) 5 starts 3 wins 0 losses 1.000 winning percentage 37 innings pitched 43 strikeouts 4 runs allowed 4 earned runs allowed 0.97 ERA PACIFIC LEAGUE - BATTER IF Tyler Nevin - Seibu Lions (1st time award winner) 24 games 89 official at-bats 26 hits .292 batting average 4 home runs 17 runs batted in .461 slugging percentage .330 on base percentage
Wednesday 11 June 交流戦 Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2025-06-11 Marines-Carp went 12 innings
Three runs in the 9th inning allowed the Seibu Lions to stun the Hanshin Tigers 3-2 in another memorable finish in Tokorozawa, Saitama. Down 2-0, Sosuke Genda knocked a bases loaded single to right field to tie the game, and three batters later 38 year old Ginjiro Sumitani, in his 20th professional season, delivered the sayonara hit to punctuate another late inning comeback for the Lions. Teruaki Sato had doubled Hanshin's lead in the top of the 9th with his18th home run of the year. Masashi Itoh returned from injury allowing just four hits and a walk in 7-21/3 scoreless innings for the Tigers. Takayuki Katoh tossed a complete game as the Nipponham Fighters defeated the Yakult SDwallows 8-2 in Kitahiroshima. Katoh is the sixth different Nipponham pitcher this season to go the distance, and the Fighters starting rotation and thrown 12 complete games as a whole this season.
The Yomiuri Giants erupted for four runs in the 1st inning and led 6-0 after 2 en route to a 7-3 victory over the SoftBank Hawks in Fukuoka. Yukinori Kishida led the Giants charge going 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs and a run scored. Hayato Sakamoto doubled with the bases loaded in the 1st frame. It was the 463rd double of Sakamoto's career which ranks second on the all-time list. Andre Jackson struck out 7 batters over 7 innings to help lead the Yokohama BayStars to a 4-0 win over the Orix BUffaloes. In the 3rd inning Yuudai Yamamoto doubled home Shion Matsuo from first base with the game winning run. Toshiro Miyazaki had two RBIs in the 9th.
Thursday 12 June 交流戦 Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2025-06-12 Hawks-Giants finished tied after 12 innings
Koki Kitayama struck out a career high 14 batters over 8 shutout innings to lead the Nipponham Fighters to a 6-1 win completing a three-game sweep over the hapless Yakult Swallows. Kitayama allowed just five hits and one walk against a Swallows offense that had fanned 18 times last week against SoftBank's Livan Moinelo. Ryota Isobata led the Fighters offense having gone 3-for-4 with two RBIS and two runs scored. Anderson Espinoza allowed four hits and one walk over 7 innings to help the Orix Buffaloes to a 4-2 win over the Yokohama BayStars. Yutaro Sugimoto had an RBI triple and then scored in the 1st inning to open the scoring in Osaka. It was rough night for Trevor Bauer who hit three batters during his 5-2/3 innings on the mound, allowing all four runs on eight hits and two walks. A sharp comeback liner by Ryusei Terachi allowed Kyota Fujiwara to race home from third with the game winning run giving the Lotte Marines a 5-4 win over the Hiroshima Carp in Chiba. Raito Ikeda and Neftali Soto each homered for the Marines. Minoru Ohmori led thew Carp offense with three RBIs on the night.
The Pacific League was prevented from a six game sweep on Thursday when the Yomiuri Giants and SoftBank Hawks failed to score a run in 12 innings at the Mizuho PayPay Dome. Giants ace Iori Yamasaki pitched 8 brilliant innings allowing just four hits and no walks while striking out 7 batters. But he was out-performed by the Hawks Tomohisa Ohzeki who tossed 9 shutout innings allowing three hits and no walks while fanning 8. Two fantastic outings yet both starters came away with a no-decision.
Not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but the Fighters set up a shrine to Tsubakuro-san at Es Con Field, as well as a photo exhibition commemorating his past exchanges with the local mascots, for the duration of this most recent 3-game series.
Sayonara of the Month - May 2025 Sponsored by SKY PerfecTV!, "Awarded to the players who hit the most impactful walk-off hit throughout the month." CENTRAL LEAGUE IF Takuma Hayashi - Yokohama BayStars (1st time award winner) Friday 9 May Yokohama Stadium (Hamasta) Bottom of the 10th inning, score tied 3-3, one out, Shion Matsuo on second base. Hayashi hit a game-winning double to left-center field scoring Matsuo to defeat the Hiroshima Carp. The BayStars were down 3-1 before rallying with single runs in the 7th and 9th innings, sending the game into extras. Hayashi had entered the game as a pinch runner in the bottom of the 8th, and in the top of the 10th he made a great catch of a foul fly ball while diving into the camera seat on the third base side before producing his first sayonara hit in his third season as a professional. PACIFIC LEAGUE C Kenya Wakatsuki - Orix Buffaloes (1st time award winner) Tuesday 20 May Kyocera Dome, Osaka Bottom of the 9th inning, no outs, no runners on base. Wakatsuki led off by hitting a second-pitch dramatic walk-off home run into the left field stands to defeat the Lotte Marines. It was Wakatsuki's third and the Buffaloes fourth sayonara hit of the season.
Friday 13 June 交流戦 Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2025-06-13 Lions-Dragons went 10 innings
Perhaps as expected, a game between the last place teams in the Pacific and Central Leagues ended with a sayonara wild pitch. And yet the Lotte Marines 5-4 win over the Yakult Swallows was an entertaining back-and-forth that nearly went into extra innings. The sight and sounds of the Narashino High School brass band sitting amongst the very vocal Marines oendan made for an even more festive atmosphere inside ZOZO Marine Stadium. Ryusei Terachi led the Marines with three RBIs including a solo home run that had tied it at 4-4 in the bottom of the 4th. Tetsuto Yamada went a modasho 3-for-3 with an RBI and run scored for the Swallows. The night ended when Hiroki Onishi's wild pitch allowed Kyota Fujiwara to scamper home from third base to give the home team the win. Atsuki Muto's two-run double down the right field line capped a three-run 4th inning as the Rakuten Eagles handed the Hanshin Tigers their fourth consecutive defeat with a 3-2 win in Sendai. Spencer Howard pitched 5 innings to earn his third win since making his NPB debut one month ago. The loss dropped Shoki Murakami's record to 7-2 while his ERA was raised to 1.68 Cuban southpaw ace Liván Moinelo followed up his 18 strikeout performance from last Friday with a 13 K complete game gem to lead the SoftBank Hawks to a 4-1 victory over the Yokohama BayStars, allowing just three hits and no walks.
Another fine outing by Kona Takahashi, yet another no-decision after the Chunichi Dragons defeated the Seibu Lions 2-1 in 10 innings. Takahashi went 8 strong innings for the Lions allowing just one earned run, but lack of run support once again denied him of a win. Yūki Okabayashi finished off a modasho 3-for-3 performance with an RBI single to left field scoring Yuta Ishii with the game winning run in the 10th.
Saturday 14 June 交流戦 Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2025-06-14 Eagles-Tigers went 10 innings Buffaloes-Giants went 11 innings
A two-out single to left field by Tsuyoshi Ishihara drove home Hiroto Kobukata from second base to give the Rakuten Golden Eagles a 5-4 sayonara victory over the Hanshin Tigers at a rainy Miyagi Ballpark in Sendai. The Eagles rallied for three runs in the 7th inning to take a 4-3 lead, but Hanshin had bases loaded with no outs in the top of the 9th and although Kento Itohara was able to draw a walk to force in the tying run the Tigers were unable to push across another score. The Tigers are now on a season-high five game losing run yet still hold a 2-1/2 game lead in the Central League table. Kōta Nakagawa walked Koji Oshiro with the bases loaded to hand the Orix Buffaloes a tough 2-1 sayonara win over the Yomiuri Giants at the Osaka Dome. Hiroya Miyagi struck out 11 batters over 9 full innings but as has been the case with a few stellar performances across NPB this season he did not figure into the decision. Miyagi walked just one batter over 125 pitches. Foster Griffin also pitched well for the Giants, allowing an unearned run and fanning 5 batters over 7 strong innings. Franmil Reyes belted his 14th home run of the year as the Nipponham Fighters eased past the Hiroshima Carp 5-0. Yuki Nomura and Yūya Gunji also homered for the Fighters. Haruki Hosono struck out 8 batters over 6 innings to earn the first win of his career. The defeat marks the first time the Carp have lost at Es Con Field since the ballpark opened in 2023.
Kojiro Yoshimura allowed just two hits over 7 innings as the Yakult Swallows shutout the Lotte Marines 5-0 in Chiba. Hidetaka Namiki and Tetsuto Yamada each homered for the visitors, the Swallows being the only Central League team to win on Saturday..