This week in Nippon Professional Baseball, Ukyo Shuto hit a rare inside-the-park grand slam as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks won six straight games and lowered their magic number for the Pacific League crown to five…Raidel Martinez became the first foreigner in NPB history to record 250 career saves…tensions flared between the Lions and Fighters…and Hiroto Saiki and Hiroto Takahashi dueled for nine scoreless innings apiece.
Plus, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Saitama Seibu Lions RHP Kaima Taira, Hokkaido Nipponham Fighters RHP Hiromi Itoh, and Hanshin Tigers 3B/RF Teruaki Sato are expected to be posted to MLB this winter. We’ll cover them in plenty of detail over the coming months, but for now, let’s dive into the week’s notable performances.
Tuesday (9/8)
- Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) hit 2 home runs, including an inside-the-park grand slam, in a 14-1 rout of the Fighters. It was the first inside-the-park grand slam in NPB since his current manager, Hiroki Kokubo, hit one on August 20, 1999.
- Yuki Okabayashi (Dragons) smashed a 3-run shot in a 3-0 win over the Giants.
- Kaima Taira (Lions) lowered his ERA to 1.36 with 8 shutout innings in a 2-0 win against the Buffaloes.
- Koki Yamaguchi (Marines) registered his third walk-off hit of the year to top the Eagles.
Wednesday (9/9)
- Ryoya Kurihara (Hawks) hit his NPB-leading 37th bomb in a 5-4 win against the Fighters.
- Hiroki Tokoda (Carp) tossed 8 scoreless innings in a 3-1 win over the Tigers.
- Ryusei Terachi (Marines) crushed a go-ahead grand slam in a 10-4 win versus the Eagles.
- Tomoya Inoue (BayStars) hit his first homer since being traded from the Hawks in a 9-2 rain-shortened game against the Swallows.
Thursday (9/10)
- Bobby Dalbec (Giants) homered for the second straight night in a 5-3 win versus the Dragons.
- Raidel Martinez (Giants) recorded his 250th career save, joining NPB’s “Golden Players Club.” He became the sixth pitcher in NPB history and the first foreigner to reach the milestone.
- Yuki Yanagita (Hawks) had his first multi-homer game since 2023 to help sweep the Fighters.
- Shugo Maki and Tomoya Inoue (BayStars) homered in back-to-back games to contribute to an 8-1 win against the Swallows. Takeru Furuichi recorded his first career home run.
Friday (9/11)
- Yugo Maeda (Hawks) struck out 9 over 7 innings in an 11-1 blowout of the Marines, improving to 12-0 on the season.
- Ryuki Watarai (BayStars) smacked a go-ahead 3-run shot in a 6-1 win against the Carp.
Saturday (9/12)
- Kazuyuki Takemaru (Giants) tossed 7 shutout innings with 10 strikeouts in a 1-0 win over the Tigers.
- Jackson Rutledge (Hawks) went 5 innings en route to a 5-4 win versus the Marines in his NPB debut.
- Benches cleared in the Fighters-Lions game after pitcher Hiromi Itoh got in a verbal altercation with third base coach Satoshi Kuroda over potential sign stealing. The game ended in a 3-3 tie.
Sunday (9/13)
- Hiroto Takahashi (Dragons) and Hiroto Saiki (Tigers) each threw 9 scoreless innings. The Dragons edged it out, 1-0, in extras.
- Tomoya Masaki (Hawks) hit his 26th and 27th homers of the year in a 7-4 win over the Marines.
- Keita Sano (BayStars) crushed a grand slam en route to the team’s fifth straight win.
- Tyler Nevin (Lions) reached 20 home runs for the second straight season in a 7-1 loss to the Fighters.
