The Hanshin Tigers defeated the Hiroshima Carp 2-0 to clinch the Central League pennant for the seventh time in club history. Sacrifice flies from Nozomu Takatera in the 2nd inning and Koji Chikamoto in the 6th scored the only runs of the game as the Tigers, in terms of the calendar date of 7 September, became the earliest team to clinch the pennant in NPB history. It broke the 1990 Yomiuri Giants record who cemented the Central League title on 8 September. Starting pitcher Hiroto Saiki allowed three hits and no walks while striking out 6 after four innings, but his first pitch in the 5th hit batter Tomoki Ishihara in the head resulting in an automatic ejection for Saiki. The Tigers ended up using six pitchers in all including Daichi Ishii who threw just 7 pitches in the 8th inning and extended his scoreless appearances streak to 48 games (47 innings). Suguru Iwazaki closed out the 9th for his 312st save of the year. The achievement under rookie manager Kyuji Fujikawa marks the first time in the club's 90 year history that the Tigers won the pennant under a new manager, and the first team to accomplish the feat in the Central League since the 1986 Hiroshima Carp under Junro Anan. As League champions the Tigers gain a few perks during the post-season: They receive a bye from the First Phase of the Central League Climax Series, and will begin the CLCS Second Phase with a 1-0 win advantage with the entire series (best-of-6) being played at Koshien Stadium.
Masahiro Nishino singled home Ryōto Kita in the 7th inning for the game winning run giving the Orix Buffaloes a 3-2 win over the Nipponham Fighters to complete the weekend series sweep. Shunpeita Yamashita made his first appearance on the mound this season and did not disappoint, striking out the side on 11 pitches in the 1st inning and finishing with 11 Ks over 5 innings. He allowed two runs including a solo home run to Kotaro Kiyomiya, the tenth round-tripper for the Nipponham first baseman this season. Yamashita threw 91 pitches in all, with his fastball often hitting 96-97 mph and topping out at 157 kmh. Luke Voit blasted two home runs to lead the Rakuten Eagles to a 4-2 win over the SoftBank Hawks. Hikari Ohta also homered for Rakuten, the first of the season for the 7-year veteran catcher. Southpaw Masaru Fujii struck out four batters over 6 innings to raise his record to 6-5. The defeat keeps SoftBank's magic number at clinching the Pacific League pennant at 16.
BATTING *To qualify: 3.1 plate appearances per the number of games played by that player's club Average .298 - Yuta Izuguchi (Giants) .296 - Kaito Kozono (Carp) .290 - Takumu Nakano (Tigers) .2783 - Sandro Fabian (Carp) .2778 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) On-Base Percentage .360 - Yuta Izuguchi (Giants) .354 - Yusuke Ohyama (Tigers) .353 - Takumu Nakano (Tigers) .350 - Kaito Kozono (Carp) .3490 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) .3485 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) OPS .930 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) .801 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) .800 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) .758 - Trey Cabbage (Giants) .747 - Yuta Izuguchi (Giants) Home Runs 36 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) 20 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) 18 - Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) 17 - Seiya Hosokawa (Dragons) 16 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) RBIs 89 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) 80 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) 66 - Yusuke Ohyama (Tigers) 60 - Keita Sano (BayStars) 59 - Shota Suekane (Carp) AVG with RISP .394 - Kaito Kozono (Carp) .351 - Keita Sano (BayStars) .323 - Yusuke Ohyama (Tigers) .304 - Shota Suekane (Carp) .302 - Yuta Izuguchi (Giants) Stolen Bases 28 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) 27 - Seiji Uebayashi (Dragons) 22 - Masaki Mimori (BayStars) 19 - Takumu Nakano (Tigers) 17 - Ryutaro Hatsuki (Carp) PITCHING *To qualify: Minimum innings equal to the number of games played by that pitcher's club. ERA 1.62 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) 1.69 - Iori Yamasaki (Giants) 1.92 - Anthony Kay (BayStars) 2.04 - Shoki Murakami (Tigers) 2.15 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) WHIP 0.90 - Shoki Murakami (Tigers) 0.96 - Iori Yamasaki (Giants) 0.98 - Anthony Kay (BayStars) 1.02 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 1.06 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) Innings pitched 155.2 - Hiroki Tokoda (Carp) 152.1 - Masato Morishita (Carp) 152.1 - Hiroto Takahashi (Dragons) 150.1 - Shoki Murakami (Tigers) 144.2 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) Strikeouts 119 - Hiroto Takahashi (Dragons) 118 - Trevor Bauer (BayStars) 117 - Shoki Murakami (Tigers) 114 - Iori Yamasaki (Giants) 113 - Jon Duplantier (Tigers) 113 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) Wins 12 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) 12 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 11 - Shoki Murakami (Tigers) 10 - Iori Yamasaki (Giants) 9 - Yudai Ohno (Dragons) 9 - Andre Jackson (BayStars) 9 - Hiroki Tokoda (Carp) Holds 40 - Masaki Oyokawa (Tigers) 40 - Taisei Ota (Giants) 35 - Daichi Ishii (Tigers) 31 - Eito Tanaka (Giants) 31 - Hiromu Ise (BayStars) Saves 39 - Raidel Martínez (Giants) 39 - Shinya Matsuyama (Dragons) 31 - Suguru Iwazaki (Tigers) 22 - Taisei Irie (BayStars) 14 - Taichi Ishiyama (Swallows)
BATTING *To qualify: 3.1 plate appearances per the number of games played by that player's club Average .302 - Itsuki Murabayashi (Eagles) .294 - Keita Nakagawa (Buffaloes) .293 - Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) .292 - Ryo Ohta (Buffaloes) .288 - Tatsuru Yanagimachi (Hawks) On-Base Percentage .389 - Tatsuru Yanagimachi (Hawks) .361 - Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) .350 - Tyler Nevin (Lions) .349 - Franmil Reyes (Fighters) .347 - Ryo Ohta (Buffaloes) OPS .866 - Franmil Reyes (Fighters) .780 - Tyler Nevin (Lions) .777 - Keita Nakagawa (Buffaloes) .776 - Yutaro Sugimoto (Buffaloes) .753 - Tatsuru Yanagimachi (Hawks) Home Runs 28 - Franmil Reyes (Fighters) 20 - Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) 19 - Chusei Mannami (Fighters) 15 - Tyler Nevin (Lions) 15 - Yutaro Sugimoto (Buffaloes) RBIs 80 - Franmil Reyes (Fighters) 55 - Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) 54 - Tyler Nevin (Lions) 53 - Kotaro Kiyomiya (Fighters) 50 - Keita Nakagawa (Buffaloes) AVG with RISP .385 - Itsuki Murabayashi (Eagles) .355 - Franmil Reyes (Fighters) .348 - Ryo Ohta (Buffaloes) .333 - Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) .330 - Tatsuru Yanagimachi (Hawks) Stolen Bases 33 - Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) 27 - Hiroto Kobukata (Eagles) 23 - Ryota Isobata (Fighters) 22 - Manaya Nishikawa (Lions) 20 - Ryosuke Tatsumi (Eagles) PITCHING *To qualify: Minimum innings equal to the number of games played by that pitcher's club. ERA 1.08 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 1.50 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) 1.5921 - Tomohisa Ohzeki (Hawks) 1.5923 - Koki Kitayama (Fighters) 2.35 - Chihiro Sumida (Lions) WHIP 0.85 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) 0.899 - Tomohisa Ohzeki (Hawks) 0.904 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 1.01 - Koki Kitayama (Fighters) 1.06 - Hiroya Miyagi (Buffaloes) Innings pitched 161.2 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) 149.1 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 147.0 - Kohei Arihara (Hawks) 144.1 - Allen Kuri (Buffaloes) 143.2 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) Strikeouts 163 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) 159 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) 156 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 140 - Hiroya Miyagi (Buffaloes) 124 - Chihiro Sumida (Lions) 124 - Atsuki Taneichi (Marines) Wins 13 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) 12 - Tomohisa Ohzeki (Hawks) 11 - Naoyuki Uwasawa (Hawks) 11 - Kohei Arihara (Hawks) 10 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 10 - Allen Kuri (Buffaloes) Holds 35 - Yuki Matsumoto (Hawks) 32 - Luis Perdomo (Buffaloes) 31 - Trey Wingenter (Lions) 28 - Naoto Nishiguchi (Eagles) 28 - Hiroshi Kaino (Lions) Saves 27 - Kaima Taira (Lions) 25 - Andrés Machado (Buffaloes) 24 - Kazuki Sugiyama (Hawks) 16 - Takahiro Norimoto (Eagles) 11 - Taisei Yanagawa (Fighters) 11 - Seigi Tanaka (Fighters)
Kyuto Ueda had two RBIs and a run scored as the Lotte Marines held on late to defeat the Orix Buffaloes 4-2 in Chiba. Marines starting pitcher Tokito Kawamura allowed one run in 5 innings to earn his first win of the season. The rare Monday outing was a makeup game from its originally scheduled 10 August date that was rained out.
Oji Paper Co. (Kasugai City) scored two runs in the top of the 8th inning to defeat Mitsubishi Motors Okazaki 2-1 in the championship final on Monday to win the Toshitaiko Intercity tournament at the Tokyo Dome. It is Oji's second Intercity title after winning in 2004.
Tuesday 9 September Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2025-09-09 Eagles-Lions went 11 innings
Shu Yamagata hit two home runs off Liván Moinelo as the Nipponham Fighters gained a crucial 7-3 victory over the SoftBank Hawks at Es Con Field Hokkaido. Yamagata finished with a modasho 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. That was the same statline for Yuma Imagawa, called up to the Fighters ichi-gun following a nearly four month stay with the farm team. Imagawa doubled and homered in his first NPB appearance since 18 May. It all contributed to Moinelo's worst outing of the season, the Cuban lefty having allowed seven earned runs in 5-2/3 innings which saw his ERA rise to 1.45 Fighters starter Hiromi Itoh was also knocked around a bit but managed seven strikeouts over 7 innings to become the first pitcher this season to win 14 games. The Hawks lead the Fightyers by 3 games in the Pacific League table, and in the quirky scheduling traditionally seen towards the end of the NPB regular season the two teams will meet two more times, on 18 and 30 September with Softbank hosting both games. Hiroya Miyagi recorded 9 strikeouts over 7-2/3 innings as the Orix Buffaloes defeated the Lotte Marines 7-3 in Chiba.
A grand slam from Richard Sunagawa capped a six-run 1st inning as the Yomiuri Giants went on to defeat the Hiroshima Carp 6-4 at the Tokyo Dome. Shosei Togo fanned 8 batters over 5 innings to earn his sixth win of the year. Carp starting pitcher Hiroki Tokoda hit a two-run home run in the 2nd inning to become just the second pitcher to homer in NPB this season. Raidel Martínez picked up his 40th save of the year to become the first pitcher in NPB history to have at least 40 saves with two different clubs. The Cuban right-hander earned 43 saves last season with the Chunichi Dragons. Anthony Kay tossed 7 shutout innings and drove in two of his team's three runs in the Yokohama BayStars 3-0 blanking of the Hanshin Tigers at Koshien Stadium.
NPB Players of the Month - August 2025 CENTRAL LEAGUE - PITCHER RHP Hiroto Saiki - Hanshin Tigers (1st time award winner) 5 starts 4 wins 0 losses 1 complete game 1.000 winning percentage 34.1 innings pitched 24 strikeouts 8 runs allowed 8 earned runs allowed 2.10 ERA CENTRAL LEAGUE - BATTER IF Munetaka Murakami - Yakult Swallows (5th time award winner) 27 games 103 official at-bats 30 hits .291 batting average 12 home runs 22 runs batted in .699 slugging percentage .342 on base percentage PACIFIC LEAGUE - PITCHER . RHP Naoyuki Uwasawa - SoftBank Hawks (2nd time award winner) 4 starts 4 wins 0 losses 1.000 winning percentage 26 innings pitched 28 strikeouts 7 runs allowed 5 earned runs allowed 1.73 ERA PACIFIC LEAGUE - BATTER IF Taisei Makihara - SoftBank Hawks (1st time award winner) 24 games 96 official at-bats 37 hits .385 batting average 3 home runs 18 runs batted in .573 slugging percentage .388 on base percentage
Wednesday 10 September Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2025-09-10 Eagles-Lions was abandoned after 2 innings (rain)
Katsuki Azuma struck out 7 batters in 5 innings of work for his 13th win this season in helping the Yokohama BayStars to a 6-1 victory over the Hanshin Tigers. Yoshitomo Tsutsugo homered for the 16th time while Tyler Austin jacked his 9th of the season to lead the BayStars offensive charge. The reigning Japan Series champions currently sit third in the Central League standings in their quest to defend their crown. Hayato Sakamoto's sacrifice fly scored Daiki Masuda in the 8th inning to give the Yomiuri Giants a 4-3 win over the Hiroshima Carp. Trey Cabbage hit his 16th home run of the year and Yukinori Kishida added a two-run shot for the Giants who have a game-and-a-half lead over the BayStars in the fight for second place in the CL table.. Munetaka Murakami poked his 19th home run of the year but it came in a losing cause as the Chunichi Dragons defeated the Yakult Swallows 6-3 at Meiji Jingu.
In the only Pacific League contest scheduled for Wednesday, the Rakuten Eagles and Seibu Lions were scoreless after 2 innings at Miyagi Park when the game was abandoned following a 30 minute rain delay that included a performance by Eagles outfielder Atsuki Mutoh. https://sports.yahoo.co.jp/video/player/22209388
Atsuki Taneichi struck out 9 batters over 8 innings to help lead the Lotte Marines to a comfortable 9-1 victory over the SoftBank Hawks in Chiba. Taneichi allowed just two hits and no walks while delivering his 6th consecutive start with at least 9 strikeouts. The bats were on fire for the Marines with Daito Yamamoto leading the brigade going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Leadoff batter Akito Takabe drove in three runs while Misho Nishikawa homered for the second consecutive game and Neftali Soto launched his 12th of the year. The Nipponham Fighters scored six runs in the 1st inning en route to a 10-4 win over the Orix Buffaloes. Buffaloes rookie starter Kaisei Tomatsu was knocked around in that first frame allowing six earned runs on six hits before being chased with only one out. Yūma Imagawa, Yūya Gunji and Kōtarō Kiyomiya each hit for the modasho with the team getting 16 hits as a whole. The win closes the gap at the top of the standings to 2 games.
A 9th inning home run from Shosei Nakamura was the difference in the Hiroshima Carp claiming a 3-2 win over the Yomiuri Giants. Kaito Kozono was 3-for-5 including his third home run of the season for the Carp. Hiroshima are just 2-7 since the start of the month, the second consecutive September they have struggled as they fight for third place and that last playoff spot in the Central League . 8-year veteran Kotaro Ohtake hurled his second career complete game shutout as the Hanshin Tigers defeated the Yokohama BayStars 2-0. Ohtake allowed just three hits with no walks over 104 pitches. Shota Morishita provided the key offense with a two-run home run in the 4th inning, Morishita's 21st bomb of the year.
Kona Takahashi pitched 8-plus innings as the Seibu Lions defeated the Nipponham Fighters 7-3 at Es Con Field Hokkaido. The right-hander was roughed up in the 9th inning allowing four consecutive hits including a leadoof home run to Franmil Reyes, the Dominican's 29th bomb of the season. Takahashi was removed after the fourth hit and was eventually charged with three runs, but he still earned the win to even his record at 7-7. Leandro Cedeno hit his third home run for the Lions, a three-run shot in the 8th inning. Hideto Asamura hit a three-run home run in the 1st inning to help leads the Rakuten Eagles to a 6-3 triumph over the Lotte Marines. It was the veteran infielder's fifth homer of the season and his first since 6 June. Akito Takabe hit his first bomb of the year for the Marines, a solo shot in the 4th inning.
Andre Jackson tossed 7 shutout innings on his way to his 10th win of the year as the Yokohama BayStars made easy work of the Yakult Swallows 10-2 at Meiji Jingu Stadium. Tatsuo Ebina was one of three batters who drove in two runs, he also crossed home plate twice. With the Swallows losing 9-1, infielder Takumi Kitamura pitched the top of the 9th inning in full, allowing one run on two hits and a walk while fanning one. Although it's very rare to see a position player take the mound in NPB, it was the second time that the sophomore pro Kitamura pitched in a game. He clearly has some pitching experience as he was throwing in around 137-139 kmh (mid-80s) and even mixed in some off-speed pitches (temporay links) https://sports.yahoo.co.jp/video/player/22240450 Shogo Sakakura had three RBIs including a two-run double leading the Hiroshima Carp to an easy 9-0 win over the Chunichi Dragons. Shohei Mori struck out 6 batters over 7 shutout innings to raise his record to 7-6.
Sayonara of the Month - August 2025 Sponsored by SKY PerfecTV!, "Awarded to the players who hit the most impactful walk-off hit throughout the month." CENTRAL LEAGUE IF Munetaka Murakami - Yakult Swallows (1st time award winner) Tuesday 12 August Meiji Jingu Stadium, Tokyo With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the 9th inning and Sōma Uchiyama on first base, Murakami hit a dramatic, walk-off, two-run home run off Yokohama reliever Koh Nakagawa that hit the back screen behind the center field fence to win the game 3-1 over the Yokohama BayStars. This marks the third consecutive month that a Swallows player has won the award following Tatsuyo Takeoka in June and Yuhiro Akabane in July. PACIFIC LEAGUE IF Yūma Tongū - Orix Buffaloes (1st time award winner) Friday 1 August Kyocera Dome, Osaka Down 2-0 to the Nipponham Fighters in the bottom of the 9th inning, the Buffaloes rallied for four runs that was capped off with a dramatic, one-out three-run home run from Tongu that landed in the left field bleachers. It was Tongu's first career sayonara homer of the year and came off Fighters starter Takayuki Katoh who had pitched 8 shutout innings before losing the shutout and, eventually, the game after surrendering four runs on four hits.
Saturday 13 September Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2025-09-13 Fighters-Lions went 11 innings