Wednesday 15 April Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/?date=2026-04-15 Tigers-Giants postponed (rain)
Anderson Espinoza struck out 8 batters over 6 shutout innings to help lead the Orix Buffaloes to a 3-1 win over the Seibu Lions at the Kyocera Dome. It was Espinoza's third win of the season while fourth-year pro Ren Mukunoki worked a quick 9th inning to earn his first career save. A timely triple from Ryoto Kita in the bottom of the 5th eventually proved to be the game winning hit. Haruto Watanabe went a modasho 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Kona Takahashi's record dropped to 1-2 after allowing the 3 earned runs over 7 innings pitched. 2025 Pacific League Rookie of the Year Misho Nishikawa went 4-for-4 including a double and 3-run home run to help the Lotte Marines to a 9-7 win over the Nippon-Ham Fighters in rainy Chiba. Kyota Fujiwara drove in 2 runs and scored 3 on a 3-for-5 performance while catcher Toshiya Satōalso also had a modasho three hit game. The power slugging Fighters launched three more home runs on the night including Chusei Mannami's sixth of the season. A solo home run from Itsuki Murabayashi in the 8th inning extended the Rakutewn Eagles winning streak to 4 games following their 3-2 victory over the SoftBank Hawks. 10 year veteran Taiwanese reliever Sung Chia-hao faced just one batter in the 7th inning to pick up his second win of the season. After Sung got batter Kenta Imamiya to fly out, center fielder Ryōsuke Tatsumi completed the rally killing double play by gunning down Hikaru Kawase at the plate to preserve the 2-2 tie. WBC Samurai reliever Shoma Fujihira closed out the 9th for save number 5.
Elehuris Montero had 3 RBIs including an insurance 2-run home run to lead the Hiroshima Carp to a 5-2 victory over the Chunichi Dragons. Ryoji Kuribayashi allowed 2 runs in 6-1/3 innings to earn his second career win as a starter.
Yuki Yanagita went 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs including a 3-run home run in the 1st inning to power the SoftBank Hawks to a 6-0 shutout victory over the Rakuten Eagles. Hotaka Yamakawa also went deep for SoftBank for his fifth of the season. Ryosuke Ohtsu was nails on the mound allowing just four hits with no walks and 11 strikeouts over 7 scoreless frames. Played in the regional setting of Kitakyushu Municipal Stadium, the Hawks avoided the sweep having lost the first two games to the Eagles in Fukuoka. Yanagita and Ohtsu were named co-Heroes of the Game. During the post-game Hero interview Yanagita was asked about his home run: "I was trying to make a good swing, and I was able to do that." Asked about his RBI single in the 7th inning: "I was trying to make a good swing, and I was able to do that." A fifth-grade boy appeared as a special interviewer and asked Yanagita what he focuses on when he's at bat: "I try to make a good swing... Is that okay?" "What do you do when you're in a slump?" "I refresh myself with weight training. Is that okay?". The elementary school interviewer looked puzzled before thanking the 15 year veteran. To end his interview Yanagita was asked to say a few words to the fans in Kitakyushu, at which he excitedly declared (or perhaps hinted at) continuing his career for one more season: "Let's meet again next year!" When Ohtsu was asked his first question he answered, "I was trying to make good pitches, and I was able to do that." And RBI single from pinch hitter Gregory Polanco in the 6th inning broke a 3-3 tie as the Lotte Marines secured a 5-3 victory over the Nippon-Ham Fighters in the rubber game of their midweek series. Kota Yazawa homered for the Fighters, his second of the year.
American gaijins Bobby Dalbec and Trey Cabbage drove in all four runs to lead the Yomiuri Giants past the Hanshin Tigers 4-3 at Koshien. Dalbec's 3-run bomb in the 1st inning put the Kyojin up early while a timely from Cabbage in the 3rd proved to be the game winning hit. Masahiro Tanaka threw 6 innings to earn his second win despite surrendering Teruaki Sato's fourth bomb of the season. Kengo Matsumoto pitched 6 shutout innings and went 2-for-2 at the plate to help the Yakult Swallows to a 2-0 blanking of the DeNA BayStars at Meiji Jingu. In the 2nd inning Kazuya Maruyama drove in Ryūsei Takeoka from second base that held up as the game winning run. Closer José Quijada allowed a hit and walk but was able to get out of the jam for his seventh save.
In the 8th inning of Thursday's Swallows-BayStars game there was a scary incident when the backswing from Yakult's José Osuna struck home plate umpire Takuto Kawakami in the head, who immediately collapsed to the ground. Medical staff evaluated the situation and following a 10 minute delay Kawakami was stretchered off the field and taken to a local hospital. An update on Kawakami's condition has yet to be provided but on Friday the Swallows issued a statement of support for Kawakami while Osuna offered his apologies after the game. 2044793539872301238 is not a valid tweet id 2044965144820961586 is not a valid tweet id
Friday 17 April Boxscores: https://baseball.yahoo.co.jp/npb/schedule/first/all?date=2026-04-17 Eagles-Marines went 11 innings
Shota Morishita hit his seventh home run of the season to give the Hanshin Tigers a 2-1 comeback victory over the Chunichi Dragons at Koshien. Shuhei Takahashi's RBI poke in the 1st inning had given the Dragons the early lead. The Tigers rallied in the 6th to tie it on Yusuke Ohyama's shallow fly to left that dropped in for the run scoring hit. Forrest Whitley struck out 9 batters over 7 scoreless innings to earn his first NPB win in the Yomiuri Giants 8-2 thumping of the Yakult Swallows at Meiji Jingu. A 2-run single from Riku Masuda capped a four run 1st inning and the Giants never looked back. Trey Cabbage added a 2-RBI knock of his own in the 3rd while Bobby Dalbec completed the scoring with a solo blast in the 9th as the Kyojin won their third game in a row. For Nash Walters, who was making his debut with the Swallows, it was a terrible night that saw him chased after Cabbage's homer: 2-2/3 innings, 7 earned runs on 8 hits, 3 walks and a hit batsman.
A 2-run home run from Masayuki Kuwahara in the 7th inning and a solo shot by Takayoshi Yamamura in the 8th flipped a 3-2 deficit and allowed the Seibu Lions to escape with a 5-3 victory over the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Kitahiroshima. Yutaro Watanabe pitched 7 innings for his first win of the year while closer Hakua Iwaki made quick work in the 9th for his fifth save. Chusei Mannami launched a solo blast in the 4th, his league-leading seventh bomb of the season. Itsuki Murabayashi singled home Ryosuke Tatsumi in the 11th inning to give the Rakuten Eagles a sayonara 1-0 win over the Lotte Marines at Miyagi Park in Sendai. Lotte's ace Atsuki Taneichi made his season debut allowing just 2 hits and a walk while fanning 6 batters over 7 impressive innings. His fastball topped out at 193 kmh (95 mph)
On Friday NPB announced that 30 year old umpire Takuto Kawakami had lost consciousness after being struck in the head by Jose Osuna's accidental release of his bat, was taken to hospital where he underwent emergency surgery and is currently being treated in the intensive care unit. 2045094018472972355 is not a valid tweet id
オリックス 西川龍馬 選手がファールで粘り、ヒットを放つ！福岡ソフトバンク 上沢直之 投手は9回途中で降板も、ナイン・ファンが笑顔で出迎える✨👇ライブ配信はこちらhttps://t.co/QgShTmrNdp pic.twitter.com/cN1oiyoBGA— パ・リーグ.com / パーソル パ・リーグTV【公式】 (@PacificleagueTV) April 18, 2026 There was controversy at the Mizuho/PayPay Dome where the SoftBank Hawks defeated the Orix Buffaloes 7-0. With one out in the top of the 9th inning, Ryoma Nishikawa reached out and lashed a clean single to opposite left field. It was the only hit of the game for the Buffaloes as Hawks starter Naoyuki Uwasawa hurled a dominating performance, allowing just 2 walks and recording 9 strikeouts. With Uwasawa's pitch count at 122 after 8 innings and a potential no-hitter in progress, Hawks manager Hiroki Kokubo let his starting pitcher remain in the game to chase history. With the count at 1-2, Nishikawa appeared to have swung and missed on Uwasawa's fourth pitch which bounced in the dirt. It would have been the second out of the inning, one out away from the no-no . But home plate umpire Norihiro Akimura ruled that Nishikawa had gotten a piece of the ball, allowing the at-bat to continue. Nishikawa fouled off two more pitches before breaking up the no-hit attempt. It was Uwasawa's 134th and final pitch of the night. The game's outcome was never in doubt as SoftBank's offense provided plenty of support for Uwasawa. Tatsuru Yanagimachi drove in 3 runs while Yuki Yanagita went a modasho 3-for-4 including a 2-run bases loaded single that ignited a 5 run rally in the 7th.
The Yakult Swallows scored twice in the bottom of the 9th inning off Yomiuri Giants closer Raidel Martínez to steal a 4-3 sayonara victory at Meiji Jingu Stadium. Kazuya Maruyama tied the game at 3-3 with a RBI single that scored pinch runner Hidetaka Namiki from second base, then two batters later Hideki Nagaoka drove in Maruyama to hand the intimidating Martínez his first blown save since 3 August of last year. Shunsuke Sasaki homered for the Giants as did Bobby Dalbec, his fifth blast of the season. Two runs in the 7th inning lifted the Hanshin Tigers to a 4-3 victory over the Chunichi Dragons. An RBI double from Shota Morishita - his second of the game - and an RBI single from Seiya Kinami completed the come-from-behind rally off veteran reliever Toshihiro Sugiura and denied Dragons starter Yudai Ohno of the win following an 11-strikeout performance over 6 innings. Kosuke Ukai and Yōhei Ōshima each went a modasho 3-for-4 for the Dragons with Ukai slugging his first home run of the season.
The Orix Buffaloes scored in the 8th and 9th innings to earn a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over the SoftBank Hawks. Tomoya Mori slugged his first home run of the year which tied the contest at 1-1 in the 8th, and Yume Mune crossed home plate with the winning run from Ryoma Nishikawa's single to center field. Mori's homer marked the 8,888th NPB home run that's been hit during the Reiwa era which began on 1 May 2019, the day that Emperor Akihito's eldest son, Naruhito, ascended the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan. Interestingly Mori's birthday is August 8 (8-8). The two earned runs allowed negated a fine outing from Hawks starter Haru Matsumoto who struck out 7 batters over 8-1/3 innings. WBC champion Andrés Machado retired the heart of the SoftBank lineup - Yuki Yanagita, Hotaka Yamakawa and Tatsuru Yanagimachi - in quick order to earn his third save of the year. Kaima Tiara surrendered his first earned runs of the season but was still able to pick up his second win as the Seibu Lions defeated the Nippon-Ham Fighters 13-3 at Es Con Field Hokkaido. Tiara allowed 2 runs over 6 innings including Chusei Mannami's eighth home run of the year, tops in NPB. Taiga Hirasawa led the Lions cavalry going 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs including a 2-run home run. Seiya Watanabe (his first of the year) and Sosuke Genda (the first grand slam of his 10 year career) also went yard for the visitors.
A 3-run home run from José Osuna in the bottom of the 4th inning was enough to give the Yakult Swallows a 3-1 win over the Yomiuri Giants. Rookie starting pitcher Shota Masui worked 5 innings to earn his first career win while closer Jose Quijada set a new NPB record by recording a save in his first 8 consecutive appearances in NPB breaking the previous record of 7 held by Yomiuri's Taisei Ota in 2022. Yutaro Ishida tossed 6 shutout innings to help lead the DeNA BayStars to a 2-0 blanking of the Hiroshima Carp at Mazda Stadium. A RBI sacrifice fly from Cooper Hummel in the 3rd inning and a run scoring fielder's choice from Toshiro Miyazaki in the 6th provided the necessary offense for the win.
BATTING *To qualify: 3.1 plate appearances per the number of games played by that player's club Average .384 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) .325 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) .321 - Hideki Nagaoka (Swallows) .311 - Kaito Muramatsu (Dragons) .308 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) On-Base Percentage .440 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) .418 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) .407 - Seiya Hosokawa (Dragons) .400 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) .398 - Yusuke Ohyama (Tigers) OPS 1.208 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) 1.053 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) .908 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) .876 - Bobby Dalbec (Giants) .855 - Seiya Hosokawa (Dragons) Home Runs 7 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) 5 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) 5 - Bobby Dalbec (Giants) 4 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) 3 - 4 players tied RBIs 19 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) 17 - Shota Morishita (Tigers) 12 - Bobby Dalbec (Giants) 10 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) 9 - 4 players tied AVG with RISP .500 - Teruaki Sato (Tigers) .462 - Seiya Hosokawa (Dragons) .400 - Yuta Izuguchi (Giants) .375 - Domingo Santana (Swallows) .375 - Shugo Maki (BayStars) Stolen Bases 8 - Yukihiro Iwata (Swallows) 6 - Koji Chikamoto (Tigers) 4 - Hiroki Fukunaga (Dragons) 3 - 5 players tied PITCHING *To qualify: Minimum innings equal to the number of games played by that pitcher's club. ERA 0.38 - Haruto Takahashi (Tigers) 1.00 - Yūya Yanagi (Dragons) 1.16 - Ryoji Kuribayashi (Carp) 1.73 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 1.80 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) WHIP 0.56 - Ryoji Kuribayashi (Carp) 0.75 - Haruto Takahashi (Tigers) 0.89 - Yasunobu Okugawa (Swallows) 0.92 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 0.95 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) Innings pitched 27.0 - Yūya Yanagi (Dragons) 26.0 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 26.0 - Shoki Murakami (Tigers) 25.2 - Hiroki Tokoda (Carp) 24.2 - Yutaro Ishida (BayStars) Strikeouts 29 - Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) 27 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 24 - Ryoji Kuribayashi (Carp) 23 - Hiroto Takahashi (Dragons) 22 - Yūya Yanagi (Dragons) 22 - Haruto Inoue (Giants) 22 - Freddy Tarnok (Carp) Wins 3 - Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) 3 - Atsuki Yuasa (Tigers) 3 - Taichi Yamano (Swallows) 2 - 10 players tied Holds 7 - Sean Reynolds (BayStars) 7 - Tomoya Hoshi (Swallows) 5 - Taylor Hearn (Carp) 5 - Taisei Ota (Giants) 4 - 6 players tied Saves 8 - José Quijada (Swallows) 6 - Suguru Iwazaki (Tigers) 5 - Yasuaki Yamasaki (BayStars) 5 - Raidel Martínez (Giants) 4 - 4 players tied
BATTING *To qualify: 3.1 plate appearances per the number of games played by that player's club Average .333 - Ryosuke Tatsumi (Eagles) .325 - Misho Nishikawa (Marines) .316 - Kyota Fujiwara (Marines) .316 - Ryoma Nishikawa (Buffaloes) .313 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) On-Base Percentage .460 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) .443 - Ryosuke Tatsumi (Eagles) .415 - Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) .409 - Kyota Fujiwara (Marines) .398 - Misho Nishikawa (Marines) OPS 1.116 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) .980 - Chusei Mannami (Fighters) .938 - Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) .890 - Kotaro Kiyomiya (Fighters) .882 - Ryosuke Tatsumi (Eagles) Home Runs 8 - Chusei Mannami (Fighters) 6 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) 5 - Kotaro Kiyomiya (Fighters) 5 - Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) 4 - Yuki Nomura (Fighters) 4 - Yuma Mune (Buffaloes) RBIs 16 - Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) 15 - Kotaro Kiyomiya (Fighters) 15 - Chusei Mannami (Fighters) 13 - Yuki Yanagita (Hawks) 13 - Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) AVG with RISP .529 - Ryoma Nishikawa (Buffaloes) .526 - Misho Nishikawa (Marines) .467 - Ryo Ohta (Buffaloes) .438 - Kotaro Kiyomiya (Fighters) .400 - Kyota Fujiwara (Marines) .400 - Yuki Yanagita (Hawks) .400 - Itsuki Murabayashi (Eagles) Stolen Bases 5 - Hiroto Kobukata (Eagles) 4 - Haruto Watanabe (Buffaloes) 4 - Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) 3 - Daisuke Nakashima (Eagles) 2 - 10 players tied PITCHING *To qualify: Minimum innings equal to the number of games played by that pitcher's club. ERA 0.41 - Anderson Espinoza (Buffaloes) 0.60 - Kaima Taira (Lions) 1.27 - Naoyuki Uwasawa (Hawks) 1.29 - Ryosuke Ohtsu (Hawks) 1.29 - Kona Takahashi (Lions) WHIP 0.71 - Ryosuke Ohtsu (Hawks) 0.80 - Kaima Taira (Lions) 0.86 - Kona Takahashi (Lions) 0.88 - Naoyuki Uwasawa (Hawks) 0.90 - Kosei Shoji (Eagles) Innings pitched 30.0 - Kaima Taira (Lions) 28.1 - Naoyuki Uwasawa (Hawks) 26.2 - Yutaro Watanabe (Lions) 24.2 - Allen Kuri (Buffaloes) 24.0 - Natsuki Takeuchi (Lions) 24.0 - Haru Matsumoto (Hawks) 24.0 - Kohei Arihara (Fighters) Strikeouts 29 - Naoyuki Uwasawa (Hawks) 26 - Kaima Taira (Lions) 24 - Allen Kuri (Buffaloes) 24 - Haru Matsumoto (Hawks) 23 - Haruki Hosono (Fighters) Wins 3 - Anderson Espinoza (Buffaloes) 3 - Kosei Shoji (Eagles) 2 - 10 players tied Holds 7 - Masaya Nishigaki (Eagles) 6 - Sora Suzuki (Eagles) 5 - Sam Long (Marines) 5 - Hiroshi Kaino (Lions) 4 - 6 players tied Saves 5 - Rikuto Yokoyama (Marines) 5 - Shoma Fujihira (Eagles) 5 - Hakua Iwaki (Lions) 4 - Taisei Yanagawa (Fighters) 4 - Kazuki Sugiyama (Hawks)
Shugo Maki celebrated his 28th birthday on Tuesday by going 3-for-6 with 3 RBIs including a 2-run home run as the DeNA BayStars outlasted the Hanshin Tigers 16-9 at Yokohama Stadium. Yuudai Yamamoto also drove in 3 runs and Atsushi Katsumata went 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs and a run scored. All three of Teruaki Sato's hits for the Tigers were doubles, knocking home 3 runs and raising his batting average back over the .400 mark (.403). Takumu Nakano also hit a modasho with 3 runs scored. It's the first time in 10 contests this season that Hanshin failed to win despite scoring the first run of the game. Kota Hirayama's 2-run single in the 7th inning gave the Yomiuri Giants a 2-1 come-from-behind win over the Chunichi Dragons at the Olympic Stadium in Nagano. Yuta Ishii drove in the Dragons lone run in the 4th frame but it did little to support Yumeto Kanemaru's strong outing of no walks with 6 strikeouts over 7 innings. A few hours before the game during team workouts Yomiuri's talented shortstop Yuta Izuguchi was taken to hospital diagnosed with a concussion, facial contusion, and oral laceration after getting hit in the face by a batted ball. No time table on how long he will be missing action.
The Seibu Lions put up 6 runs in the 1st inning and held on to defeat the SoftBank Hawks 6-4 at the Belluna Dome. The Hawks scored their 4 runs in the 2nd but Lions starter Chihiro Sumida settled to go 7 innings while registering 9 strikeouts for the win. Kosei Shoji of the Rakuten Eagles suffered his first loss after winning his first three outings but fanned 10 Nippon-Ham Fighters to raise his season total to 31, tops in the Pacific League.