Flamethrower Faceoff: Imai vs. Yamashita

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Nippon Professional Baseball’s postseason picture is coming into focus as the regular season enters its final two weeks. In the Central League, the pennant-winning Hanshin Tigers will be watching closely to see who emerges between the DeNA BayStars and Yomiuri Giants, both of whom have already secured playoff berths. The two sides clashed in last year’s League Championship Series, which the BayStars edged 4 games to 3. This time, they will meet in a best-of-three opening series. DeNA currently holds a two-game edge and is positioned to secure home-field advantage.

In the Pacific League, the SoftBank Hawks hold a two-and-a-half game lead over the Nipponham Fighters for first place and have lowered their magic number to seven. Further back, the Orix Buffaloes are clinging to third place, with the Rakuten Eagles trailing by four games with eleven left to play. Barring a late-season miracle, the first round is shaping up to feature the Fighters hosting the Buffaloes, with the winner heading to Fukuoka.

Now let’s look back at the past week of games, highlighted by a showdown between future MLB pitchers Tatsuya Imai and Shunpeita Yamashita, standout performances from Kazuma Okamoto, Luke Voit, and Leandro Cedeno, and a flurry of dramatic walk-offs.

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Monday (September 15)

• Anthony Kay (BayStars) threw a complete game shutout with 11 strikeouts against the Giants.
• Teruaki Sato (Tigers) hit two home runs in a 6-2 win over the Dragons, giving him 38 on the season.
• Yuya Ogoh (Eagles) hit a walk-off homer in extras against the Marines.
• Franmil Reyes, Chusei Mannami, and Daiki Asama (Fighters) combined for three homers and eight ribbies in a 12-5 victory against the Lions.

Wednesday (September 17)

• Luke Voit (Eagles) walked off the Fighters in extras.
• Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) threw eight shutout innings and laid down a squeeze in a 1-0 win versus the Dragons.
• The Hawks tagged Natsuki Takeuchi (Lions) for 11 runs in two innings.

Thursday (September 18)

• Shunpeita Yamashita (Buffaloes) tied a PL record with six straight strikeouts to open the game against the Lions.
• Tatsuya Imai (Lions) took a no-hitter late into the game and threw seven scoreless innings against the Buffaloes. Later, Ginjiro Sumitani walked it off.
• Yamashita’s Line: 7.2 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 103 P, 15 Whiffs, 96.4 mph average fastball velocity.
• Imai’s Line: 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 118, 17 Whiffs, 95.3 mph average fastball velocity.
• Atsuki Taneichi (Marines) threw seven shutout frames versus the Eagles.
• The Hawks came back late to top the Fighters, 3-2.

Friday (September 19)

• Kazuma Okamoto (Giants) homered twice in a 5-4 win against the Carp.
• Leandro Cedeno (Lions) smashed his fifth homer in his last six games to take down the Eagles, 4-1.
• Sho Nakata (Dragons) had his retirement ceremony.
• The Tigers snapped the BayStars’ six-game win streak.

Saturday (September 20)

• Daiki Asama (Fighters) walked off the Marines, 8-7.
• Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) hit two homers in a 5-4 loss to the Buffaloes.
• Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) batted leadoff for the first time in his career, but was substituted after just one at-bat. He’s in his first slump of the season, going hitless since September 13.

Sunday (September 21)

• Chihiro Sumida (Lions) reached 10 wins for the first time in his career.
• Yuma Tongu and Kotaro Kurebayashi (Buffaloes) homered to edge the Hawks, 2-1.
• Yudai Ohno (Dragons) defeated Masahiro Tanaka (Giants) to stop him from getting career win #200.

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• Central League Pitching Leaders
• Pacific League Hitting Leaders
• Pacific League Pitching Leaders
• Yakyu Cosmopolitan’s Website