21.3KOrix Buffaloes first baseman Yuma Tongu leads NPB with five home runs.
The Orix Buffaloes (10-3-1) and Hiroshima Carp (8-5-1) have jumped out to early pennant leads in their respective leagues. What else is going on in the world of Nippon Professional Baseball? Let’s find out.
Team Power Rankings
Tuesday (April 8)
Hiromi Itoh’s 13 K complete game
Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) set a new career-high in strikeouts with 13, going the distance with a 120-pitch complete game.
Keiji Takahashi (Swallows) tossed eight shutout innings with nine punchouts against the Tigers.
Takeya Nakamura (Lions) hit his 479th career home run in a 7-3 loss to the Marines.
Wednesday (April 9)
Orix-SoftBank Highlights
45-year-old Masanori Ishikawa (Swallows) picked up a win for the 24th consecutive season while averaging just 79 mph on his fastball. He debuted way back in 2002!
Iori Yamasaki threw eight shutout frames for the second consecutive start and the Giants smashed four home runs in a 6-3 win over the BayStars.
Trailing 6-2 entering the eighth inning, Hotaka Yamakawa’s come-from-behind three-run shot in the ninth put an exclamation point on a thrilling 10-9 victory for the Hawks over the Buffaloes.
Thursday (April 10)
Scenes from the Chunichi-Hiroshima game at Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium on Tuesday
The Fighters routed the Eagles, 10-0, to complete a sweep on the road.
Ukyo Shuto (Hawks) recorded his 200th career stolen base.
Friday (April 11)
Yuya Gunji’s walk-off home run
Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) hit two home runs as the Hawks topped the Marines in extras, 5-4.
Sachiya Yamasaki (Fighters) and Tatsuya Imai (Lions) each took no-hitters into the 7th inning. Yuya Gunji broke the scoreless tie in the 12th with a pinch-hit walk-off two-run homer.
The Carp shelled Giants ace Shosei Togo, handing him the worst start of his career. Final line: 3.1 IP, 10 H, 10 R, 3 BB, 2 K. Ouch.
The Tigers put up five runs in four innings against Dragons ace Hiroto Takahashi en route to a 6-3 victory.
Saturday (April 12)
DeNA-Yakult Highlights
Hiroki Tokoda (Carp) threw a 123-pitch complete game shutout against the Giants.
Rookie Seiya Watanabe (Lions) recorded two hits to raise his average to an NPB-best .429 but had to exit the game with an ankle injury.
Sunday (April 13)
Orix-Rakuten Highlights
Hiroya Miyagi (Buffaloes) completed eight innings for the third consecutive start, allowing just one run with six strikeouts against the Eagles. Yutaro Sugimoto hit two home runs as Orix improved to an NPB-best 10-3-1.
The Carp completed a sweep of the Giants at home, taking a 1.5-game lead in the CL.
