An RBI double from Takeshi Miyamoto in the 8th inning decided a back-and-forth contest that ended with the Yakult Swallows escaping with a 7-6 win over the Yokohama BayStars. Domingo Santana went a modasho 3-for-5 including a solo home run while Eigoro Mogi hit a three-run homer in the 7th to help lead the Swallows to victory. Keita Sano also blasted a three-run homer while Ryūki Watarai hit a two-run round-tripper for the BayStars. Koji Chikamoto went 5-for-5 with an RBI and run scored to lead the Hanshin Tigers to a 5-2 win over the Hiroshima Carp at Koshien Stadium. 8 year veteran Kotaro Otake made just his second start of the season and went 7-1/3 innings to earn his first win Otake was removed with one out in the 8th inning after surrendering a two-run home run to Elehuris Montero, the Dominican's first homer in his debut season in Japan.
Natsuo Takizawa went 4-for-6 including a two-out bases loaded grounder to right field that scored Shinya Hasegawa to give the Seibu Lions a 3-2 sayonara victory over the Orix Buffaloes in 10 innings. Tatsuya Imai struck out 9 and allowed just one run over 8 innings but did not figure in the decision. 21 year old rookie reliever Haruto Yamada pitched a 1-2-3 10th inning to earn his first NPB win in his 12th appearance.
Sunday 18 May Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2025-05-18 Marines-Fighters went 12 innings Hawks-Eagles went 12 innings
A fantastic pitching duel in Saitama saw Ryuhei Sotani outlast Chihiro Sumida in the Orix Buffaloes 3-1 win over the Seibu Lions. Sotani allowed just four hits and no walks while striking out 6 in a 102-pitch complete game, the first of his career. The lone run he conceded came in the 1st inning off the bat of Seiya Watanabe, the second home run for the Lions rookie. Sumida was nearly as affective, allowing just one run over 8 innings before he was chased in the 9th when the Buffaloes rallied for two runs to earn the victory. Rookie Misho Nishikawa's bases loaded liner into right-centerfield scored Ryūsei Ogawa to give the Lotte Marines a sayonara 2-1 win over the Nipponham Fighters in 12 innings. Lotte's Austin Voth pitched a magnificent 8 innings allowing just three hits and no walks but was denied the win when the visitors rallied for a run off closer Shōta Suzuki. 2021 1st round pick Kota Tatsu made just his fourth appearance with the Fighters inchi-gun but was impressive allowing just two hits and two walks while recording 8 strikeouts over 7 strong innings. Down to the final out in the 9th inning, Neftali Soto sent the game into extra frames with a dramatic solo home run off Nipponham closer Seigi Tanaka. Taisei Makihara singled to right field scoring Yoshiyasu Sasagawa in the 12th inning to give the SoftBank Hawks a 2-1 sayonara win over the Rakuiten Eagles in Fukuoka.
The Chunichi Dragons scored seven runs in a game for the first time this season in their 7-4 win over the Yomiuri Giants. The visiting Dragons hit a season-high four home runs including two by Yasuhiro Yamamoto, his first jacks of the year. Yutaro Itayama and Jason Vosler also went yard for the Nagoya club. Richard Sunagawa hit a three-run homer for the Giants, his second with the club since arriving via a trade on Monday.
BATTING *To qualify: 3.1 plate appearances per the number of games played by that player's club Average .329 - Sandro Fabian (Carp) .313 - Takumu Nakano (Tigers) .308 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) .308 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) .306 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) On-Base Percentage .404 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) .390 - Takumu Nakano (Tigers) .381 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) .371 - Eigoro Mogi (Swallows) .360 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) OPS .979 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) .947 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) .842 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) .816 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) .815 - Sandro Fabian (Carp) Home Runs 11 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) 8 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) 6 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) 6 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) 6 - Trey Cabbage (Giants) 6 - Shota Suekane (Carp) RBIs 33 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) 31 - Shota Suekane (Carp) 28 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) 26 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) 25 - Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) AVG with RISP .452 - Shota Suekane (Carp) .405 - Keita Sano (BayStars) .394 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) .382 - Kaito Kozono (Carp) .372 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) Stolen Bases 9 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) 7 - Seiji Uebayashi (Dragons) 7 - Masaki Mimori (BayStars) 6 - Takumu Nakano (Tigers) 6 - Ryutaro Hatsuki (Carp) 6 - Yūki Okabayashi (Dragons) 6 - Takuma Hayashi (BayStars) PITCHING *To qualify: Minimum innings equal to the number of games played by that pitcher's club. ERA 0.86 - Anthony Kay (BayStars) 1.17 - Iori Yamasaki (Giants) 1.24 - Andre Jackson (BayStars) 1.80 - Daichi Ohsera (Carp) 1.85 - Hiroki Tokoda (Carp) WHIP 0.83 - Shoki Murakami (Tigers) 0.88 - Masato Morishita (Carp) 0.91 - Iori Yamasaki (Giants) 0.93 - Anthony Kay (BayStars) 0.98 - Yuji Akahoshi (Giants) Innings pitched 58.1 - Hiroki Tokoda (Carp) 58.0 - Masato Morishita (Carp) 57.2 - Shoki Murakami (Tigers) 51.2 - Takahiro Matsuba (Dragons) 43.0 - Trevor Bauer (BayStars) Strikeouts 43 - Shoki Murakami (Tigers) 42 - Masato Morishita (Carp) 42 - Haruto Inoue (Giants) 42 - Trevor Bauer (BayStars) 40 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) Wins 6 - Shoki Murakami (Tigers) 5 - Iori Yamasaki (Giants) 5 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 5 - Takahiro Matsuba (Dragons) 4 - Taisei Ota (Giants) 4 - Hiroki Tokoda (Carp) Holds 12 - Daichi Ishii (Tigers) 12 - Tatsuya Shimizu (Dragons) 12 - Taisei Ota (Giants) 10 - 6 players tied Saves 15 - Shinya Matsuyama (Dragons) 14 - Raidel Martínez (Giants) 11 - Suguru Iwazaki (Tigers) 9 - Taichi Ishiyama (Swallows) 8 - Taisei Irie (BayStars)
BATTING *To qualify: 3.1 plate appearances per the number of games played by that player's club Average .323 - Ryo Ohta (Buffaloes) .312 - Seiya Watanabe (Lions) .294 - Ryoma Nishikawa (Buffaloes) .291 - Yuki Nomura (Fighters) .290 - Akira Nakamura (Hawks) .290 - Kōtarō Kurebayashi (Buffaloes) On-Base Percentage .392 - Akira Nakamura (Hawks) .387 - Ryo Ohta (Buffaloes) .371 - Yuki Nomura (Fighters) .352 - Yudai Fujioka (Marines) .3481 - Yuma Tongu (Buffaloes) .3475 - Hideto Asamura (Eagles) OPS .871 - Yuki Nomura (Fighters) .834 - Yuma Tongu (Buffaloes) .831 - Franmil Reyes (Fighters) .818 - Chusei Mannami (Fighters) .814 - Ryo Ohta (Buffaloes) Home Runs 9 - Chusei Mannami (Fighters) 8 - Franmil Reyes (Fighters) 8 - Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) 7 - Yuma Tongu (Buffaloes) 6 - Yuki Nomura (Fighters) 6 - Neftali Soto (Marines) RBIs 24 - Franmil Reyes (Fighters) 24 - Chusei Mannami (Fighters) 23 - Keita Nakagawa (Buffaloes) 23 - Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) 20 - Ryo Ohta (Buffaloes) 20 - Tyler Nevin (Lions) AVG with RISP .385 - Ryo Ohta (Buffaloes) .361 - Tyler Nevin (Lions) .333 - Keita Nakagawa (Buffaloes) .333 - Seiya Watanabe (Lions) .333 - Yuki Nomura (Fighters) .333 - Franmil Reyes (Fighters) Stolen Bases 12 - Hiroto Kobukata (Eagles) 11 - Manaya Nishikawa (Lions) 7 - Yūsuke Mugitani (Buffaloes) 6 - 6 players tied PITCHING *To qualify: Minimum innings equal to the number of games played by that pitcher's club. ERA 0.59 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) 1.33 - Chihiro Sumida (Lions) 1.55 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 1.98 - Hiroya Miyagi (Buffaloes) 2.05 - Ryuhei Sotani (Buffaloes) WHIP 0.72 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) 0.81 - Chihiro Sumida (Lions) 0.84 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 0.87 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) 0.89 - Naoyuki Uwasawa (Hawks) Innings pitched 61.0 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) 54.1 - Chihiro Sumida (Lions) 52.0 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) 52.0 - Kohei Arihara (Hawks) 51.1 - Allen Kuri (Buffaloes) Strikeouts 64 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) 56 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) 50 - Hiroya Miyagi (Buffaloes) 49 - Chihiro Sumida (Lions) 47 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) Wins 5 - Chihiro Sumida (Lions) 5 - Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) 4 - Tatsuya Imai (Lions) 4 - Ryuhei Sotani (Buffaloes) 4 - Liván Moinelo (Hawks) 4 - Allen Kuri (Buffaloes) Holds 12 - Yuki Matsumoto (Hawks) 11 - Trey Wingenter (Lions) 11 - Takahide Ikeda (Fighters) 11 - Luis Perdomo (Buffaloes) 10 - Ryusei Kawano (Fighters) Saves 10 - Kaima Taira (Lions) 8 - Seigi Tanaka (Fighters) 7 - Andrés Machado (Buffaloes) 6 - Roberto Osuna (Hawks) 5 - Takahiro Norimoto (Eagles)
A two-out double in the 3rd inning by Natsuo Takizawa scored Shinya Hasegawa from second base for the only run of the game as the Seibu Lions knocked off the Rakuten Eagles 1-0 in Morioka But it was what happened - or didn't happen - off the field that took the headlines. For the first time since 8 August 2015, Eagles infielder Hideto Asamura watched the entire game from the bench, snapping his consecutive games played streak at 1,346, the 4th longest streak in NPB history and the longest streak in Pacific League history. Asamura, who is two hits shy of 2,000 for his career, was not injured but has struggled for much of this season. Although his numbers aren't terrible they are far from his best: .243 batting average with 4 home runs and 17 RBIs. In late April he struggled with a career-worst 35 consecutive hitless at-bats, and is currently on 13 consecutive at-bats without a hit. Rakuten manager Hajime Miki was asked about the benching after the game: "Well, I guess..." (he was silent for over 20 seconds before continuing)... "Playing consecutive games is a great record. As this team advances to a new stage and takes on new challenges, we will definitely need his strength in the future. What I can say now is that we made a comprehensive decision, including the team and the GM (Kazuhisa Ishii)." Asamura: "My baseball career isn't over, so I guess I just have to move on. I'll prepare well and try to get a hit first." LONGEST STREAKS, CONSECUTIVE GAMES PLAYED 2215 Sachio Kinugasa (Hiroshima Carp : from 1970-10-19 to 1987-10-22) Central League record 1939 Takashi Toritani (Hanshin Tigers : from 2004-09-99 to 2018-05-27) 1766 Tomoaki Kanemoto (Hiroshima Carp 1998–2002, Hanshin Tigers 2003-2011 : from 1998-07-10 to 2011-04-14) 1346 Hideto Asamura (Seibu Lions 2015-2018, Rakuten Golden Eagles 2019–2025 : from 2015-08-08 to 2025-05-20) Pacific League record 1250 Hideki Matsui (Yomiuri Giants : from 1993-08-22 to 2002-10-11)
Home runs from by Tyler Austin and Toshiro Miyazaki helped spur the Yokohama BayStars to a convincing 10-2 victory over the Chunichi Dragons at Hamasta. Battling injuries this campaign, the two hot corner infielders are back healthy and ready to help the team defend their Japan Series title. Shugo Maki also homered for the BayStars, his seventh on the year. American lefty Anthony Kay struggled a bit allowing 10 hits over 7 innings but managed to hold the Dragons to just two runs for a season ERA of 1.10 Sandro Fabian golfed his fifth home run of the year as the Hiroshima Carp defeated the Yakult Swallows 3-2 at Mazda Stadium. The Dominican slugger, who signed a three-year deal with the Carp during the off-season, has so far shown to be worth the gamble as his .329 batting average tops the Central League. Elehuris Montero drove in the game winning run in the 6th with an RBI double that scored Shota Suekane from second base.
Wednesday 21 May Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2025-05-21 Carp-Swallows postponed (rain)
Yūya Gunji hit a bases loaded single in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Nipponham Fighters a 2-1 sayonara win over the SoftBank Hawks at Es Con Field. The run breathed a sigh of relief from Fighters starting pitcher Koki Kitayama who earned his second complete game win this season. On the night the right-hander struck out 10 batters while allowing just the one earned run on four hits and one walk. Akira Nakamura connected for three of those four hits by the Hawks. SoftBank speedster Ukyo Shuto, who was batting .345 when he was sidelined with a right fibula fracture on 23 April, has gone 0-for-8 striking out five times since rejoining the team on Tuesday. A 9th inning solo home run by Mikiya Tanaka off closer Taisei Irie was the difference in the Chunichi Dragons 6-5 win over the Yokohama BayStars. Tanaka's first round-tripper of the season capped a Hero of the Game performance with the second year player going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. Yūki Okabayashi hit a modasho 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored for the visiting Dragons. Keita Sano and Toshiro Miyazaki also produced three-hit modashos at the plate for Yokohama. Trevor Bauer again found things rough pitching on four days rest, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and a walk in 6 innings of work. The silver lining is that his 8 strikeouts pushed him up to 50 on the year, currently tops in the Central League.
Thursday 22 May Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2025-05-22 Fighters-Hawks went 11 innings Tigers-Giants went 11 innings Carp-Swallows finished tied after 12 innings
Yutaro Ishida tossed a one-hit complete game shutout in the Yokohama BayStars 4-0 victory over the Chunichi Dragons. Ishida also walked a batter, facing two over the minimum on 107 pitches. He recorded 8 strikeouts. Tatsuo Ebina led the BayStars at the plate going 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored. Hisense Hamasta Battle Misa + Shizuku + Aki = "First replay of the season but somehow it all worked out." 2025: 16 wins, 6 defeats All-time: 120-45 Hiroshima Carp 2-2 Yakult Swallows after 12 innings If one needs further proof of how dead the baseballs are in NPB, even the cameramen thought Sandro Fabian's launch to left field was gone over Domingo Santana. The league-wide ERA is currently 2.80, the lowest since 1958.
Raito Ikeda had five RBIs while homering twice as the Lotte Marines easily dispatched the Orix Buffaloes 9-1 in Osaka. Kenta Chatani drove in another two runs on a 2-for-4 night at the plate. Rikuto Yokoyama allowed two hits and a walk in 5 innings to earn his first win of the year. Yoshiaki Watanabe led off the bottom of the 9th inning with a single to left field, pinch runner Yūya Ogo stole second base, moved to third on Hideto Asakura's fly out to right, and scored on Rui Muneyama's deep fly to center to give the Rakuten Eagles the 2-1 sayonara win over the Seibu Lions in Sendai.
Friday 23 May Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2025-05-23 Dragons-Tigers went 11 innings
Shoma Kanemura hurled his third complete game shutout leading the Nipponham Fighters to a 1-0 win over the Rakuten Eagles. Kanemura allowed five hits and one walk with six strikeouts to earn his fourth win of the year, all four wins being complete game victories. The performance overshadowed that of Eagles ace start Takahisa Hayakawa who struck out 9 batters over 7 innings. But a costly mistake allowed Yūya Gunji to park a home run over the left field fence leading off the 2nd inning and it held up as the only run of the game. Although the Lotte Marines handled the Seibu Lions with ease 9-3, Seiya Watanabe of the Lions went 3-for-4 including two home runs, doubling his season output to four bombs in his rookie season. His .331 batting average currently tops all of NPB.
Yuji Akahoshi threw his first career complete game shutout in the Yomiuri Giants 5-0 win over the Yakult Swallows. Akahoshi aided his own cause at the plate, his two out two-RBI single capping off a four run 4th inning. Koji Chikamoto's RBI single in the 11th inning broke a scoreless deadlock and Shota Morishita doubled home two insurance runs as the Hanshin Tigers maintained their lead in the Central League downing the Chinich Dragons in Nagoya. Although he did not figure in the decision Tigers starter Shoki Murakami tossed 7 shutout innings to lower his ERA to 1.67 Dragons starter Hideaki Wakui also pitched 7 scoreless frames lowering his ERA to 1.44
Good news for the reigning Pacific League champion SoftBank Hawks as 2024 MVP Kensuke Kondoh made his first rehab appearance with the farm team and homered in his second plate appearance. Kondoh played the opening weekend of the season in March but injured his back and after having surgery he was ruled out for three months. No timetable yet on when he will rejoin the first team but his recovery has gone slightly quicker than anticipated.
EDIT: Pacific League TV (English) LIVE STREAM Saturday 24 May 13:00 Japan Time 12 midnight Eastern 9:00pm (Friday) Pacific Fujisakidai Baseball Stadium in Kumamoto (countryside venue) SoftBank Hawks vs Orix Buffaloes NOTE: Saturday's game has been postponed due to rain. It looks like PLTV will instead stream Sunday's game between the same two teams with the same start time.. The game is scheduled to take place at a different 'countryside venue', Kamoike Ballpark in Kagoshima
Saturday 24 May Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2025-05-24 Carp-BayStars postponed (rain) Hawks-Buffaloes postponed (rain)
Hideto Asamura achieved his 2,000th career hit with an RBI single in the 1st inning to help the Rakuten Eagles to a 2-1 victory over the Nipponham Fighters. It's been an emotional week for the 16-year veteran who had his consecutive games streak snapped earlier in the week. But on Sunday he was involved in the Eagles two runs with an RBI and run scored to earn Hero of the Game honors against the current Pacific League leaders. Asakura is the 56th player to reach the 2,000 hit plateau and, at age 34 years 6 months, he is the seventh youngest player in NPB history to reach the mark. Kosei Shoji went 6 innings to open his decision account under the win column while Nipponham's Sachiya Yamasaki took the loss to even his record at 2-2. Tatsuya Imai continued his impressive season by striking out 7 batters over 8 innings as the Seibu Lions took care of the Lotte Marines 6-1. The Lions offense aided Imai by slugging four home runs including two by Shinya Hasegawa. Manaya Nishikawa and Tyler Nevin blasted the other two. Imai is now 5-1 on the yuear and leads NPB with 71 strikeouts.
Shuhei Takahashi's two-RBI single in the 8th inning broke a 3-3 tie and the Chunichi Dragons held on for a 5-4 win over the Hanshin Tigers. The timing of Takahashi's one hit on the night gave him Hero honors, but Yūki Okabayashi wielded the better bat going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. Dragons ace Hiroto Takahasshi struck out 7 Tigers over 6 innings but surrendered a solo home run to Terukai Sato in the 2nd, Sato's league-leading 12th bomb of the year.