Let’s break down some of the latest news one club at a time, shall we? They are in order of record, with their previous week’s record in parentheses.
Yomiuri Giants 22-12-2 (3-3)
Nothing and no one seems capable of stopping the Giants, although the BayStars did take two of three in the first half of the week. They have the best record in NPB, plus the most team home runs (54), the individual home run leader (Kazuma Okamoto 14), and the best team ERA (3.24). Tomoyuki Sugano looks to be back in 2017-18 Sawamura Award form, with a slick 5-0 record, 1.69 ERA and two complete-game shutouts in six starts.
SoftBank Hawks 22-15-1 (4-1)
Veteran outfielder Yuya Hasegawa became NPB’s first positive Covid-19 case to come in-season. Though he was playing down on the farm and has reportedly not been in physical contact with any top-squad players, the game on Sunday was cancelled as a precautionary measure. The farm facilities have been shut down and disinfected.
Rakuten Eagles 20-17-1 (3-3)
Tuesday saw the Eagles team up with the Marines in a slugfest for the ages. After falling behind 0-4 and 1-6, the Eagles mounted a comeback that also resulted in them giving up runs in the process. By the top of the eighth, the score was 12-9 for the visitors, but the Marines got three in the bottom of the frame and then “walked” it off with a bases-loaded hit batsman, which was the second of the inning for Eagles reliever J.T. Chargois. The Eagles were 1-3 in one-run games this past week.
Yakult Swallows 17-15-5 (2-3-1)
The youth movement is really starting to take shape with this team, who played the week without the services of Tetsuto Yamada and Yuhei. Twenty-year old Munetaka Murakami continues to destroy the ball, youngsters Yasutaka Shiomi, Taishi Hirooka and Takeshi Miyamoto combined for 5 home runs this week, and 23-year old lefty Keiji Takahashi threw 8 shutout innings on Thursday against the Hanshin Tigers.
Chiba Lotte Marines 19-19 (3-3)
Despite just two hits in his Marines career, former Hanshin Tigers great Takashi Toritani leads the team in a category that most people pay little attention to: player-themed box lunch sales. The five-time Golden Glove shortstop has, mind you, also been showing off his fielding skills in action so far. In 17 games, he has played every infield position (catcher aside) without committing a single error.
Yokohama BayStars 18-18-2 (3-2-1)
There is only one pitcher left in NPB with a 100% QS rate, and he’s not who you’d expect. Kentaro Taira, who was compensation when the Giants took free-agent Shun Yamaguchi (Blue Jays) away back in 2017, has 7 quality starts a strong 1.99 ERA on the season, but just two wins to show for it.
Hanshin Tigers 17-17-2 (2-3-1)
The bats came to life for just one game this week, putting up 20 runs against the Swallows on Tuesday, including grand slams from imports Justin Bour and Jerry Sands. The rest of the week saw them score just 10 runs in their other five games. Also of note was Shintaro Fujinami’s first strong start of the year on Thursday: 7 innings and 10 strikeouts with just 1 walk (from someone whose BB:9 has been 6.6 the last three seasons). Unfortunately, he ran into the Swallows’ best pitching performance of the week (see above).
Saitama Seibu Lions 17-18-1 (1-4)
Zach Neal had an impressive streak going. In fact, he had won 13 consecutive decisions dating back to last year until this past Friday, when the SoftBank Hawks scored five runs in six innings, and the bats were unable to bail him out and keep the streak going. Neal is 2-1 in 7 starts with a 4.46 ERA so far this year.
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 17-19-2 (4-1)
Sapporo Dome is the least hitter-friendly park in NPB, and first baseman Sho Nakata does not always get his due respect, but he has shown himself to be quite the powerhouse so far in 2020. Averaging 25 homers per year through the last 8 seasons, he already has more than half that total (13) through 38 games, with nearly half of them (6) coming at home. Three came in the past week. He may not keep up this pace (41) but he could easily break his career-best of 30.
Chunichi Dragons 15-21-3 (3-1-2)
For the second time this season, an import development-contract player has been added to the protected list. Earlier this year, Ariel Martinez (catcher) made his way to the top squad. This past week, it was Yariel Rodriguez’s (pitcher) turn. On the farm, he had a 2-0 record with an 0.51 ERA through five games.
Hiroshima Carp 13-19-4 (2-3-1)
The season is still young and manager Shinji Sasaoka is in his first year, but there are already rumblings of him being replaced by former star (and ex-Hanshin Tigers manager) Tomoaki Kanemoto. The most pressing issue has been his use of pitchers, particularly the starters. Two of his top hurlers have already been deactivated due to fatigue, which is said to come from his over-reliance on them. The Carp have the worst bullpen ERA in NPB (5.23), and also the next-to-last winning percentage despite the top team batting average (.281).
Orix Buffaloes 14-21-3 (1-4)
Talent levels and weekly records indicate that this team could do much better, but they have definitely been the most inconsistent team in baseball this season. Their series records so far have been: 1-2 (Eagles), 0-6 (Marines), 3-2-1 (Lions), 4-1-1 (Fighters), 1-5 (Hawks), 4-1-1 (Eagles), and most recently, 1-4 (Fighters).
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By
Trevor Raichura