Congratulations to Shohei Ohtani for becoming the first Japanese player to have a 40/40 season and to Kyoto International High School for winning the 2024 Summer Koshien tournament!
The Nippon-Ham Fighters now have a four-game cushion for second place, and the Rakuten Eagles only trail the Lotte Marines by two games for the final PL playoff spot. The Yomiuri Giants and Hiroshima Carp are still duking it out for the CL pennant, with the latter leading by one game. Let’s dig into the NPB action this week!
Tuesday
Chunichi Dragons ace Hiroto Takahashi entered the night with an astounding 0.68 ERA but left the start with a 0.96 ERA as the DeNA BayStars tagged him for eight hits and four runs in six and two-thirds innings. He’s still the Sawamura Award frontrunner, but keeping a sub-one ERA for the rest of the season will be much more difficult. Can he finish with a qualified season and beat Minoru Murayama’s all-time record (0.98 ERA)?
Wednesday
Southpaw Katsuki Azuma (BayStars) threw six innings of one-run ball to preserve his 100% quality start rate on the year. Going back to last season, he’s now made 30 straight QS. Superstar Kazuma Okamoto hit a big go-ahead three-run shot in the 8th inning to lift the Giants over the Carp. He’s now hit 20+ HR in seven consecutive seasons as one of the most consistent sluggers of this generation.
Thursday
Yomiuri Giants ace Shosei Togo was two outs away from finishing his third consecutive complete game shutout, but the gutsy Carp rallied to win in extras to extend their first-place lead. The Dragons came back after falling behind 7-1 to take down the BayStars, 9-8. Roki Sasaki (Marines) struggled as he allowed six hits, five walks, and four runs in six innings against the Fighters.
Friday
New Lotte Marines acquisition Dallas Keuchel tossed seven shutout innings in his second career NPB start. Keep an eye on Keuchel to represent Team USA at the Premier12 this fall. Later in the game, 2021 PL home run champion Yutaro Sugimoto hit a walk-off jack to snap the Orix Buffaloes losing streak. Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) smashed his 28th dinger.
Saturday
Koki Kitayama (Fighters) had one of the most overpowering outings of the NPB season, throwing eight shutout innings with ten strikeouts and 27 swinging strikes against the mighty Hawks. Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) hit his 23rd home run to further his lead in the CL. He also has eight steals this season.
Sunday
Franmil Reyes hit his 14th homer of the year as the Nippon-Ham Fighters capped off a 5-1 week with a series victory against the Hawks. Meanwhile, the Lotte Marines’ woes persisted as the Orix Buffaloes shut them out. Veteran Tetsuto Yamada (Swallows) reached double-digit homers for the 11th straight season, setting a new franchise record.
This Week’s Team Records
Nippon-Ham Fighters (5-1)
Rakuten Eagles (4-1)
Hanshin Tigers (4-2)
DeNA BayStars (4-2)
Seibu Lions (4-2)
Yomiuri Giants (3-3)
Hiroshima Carp (3-3)
Yakult Swallows (2-4)
Chunichi Dragons (2-4)
Orix Buffaloes (2-4)
SoftBank Hawks (1-4)
Lotte Marines (1-5)
- NPB Standings
- Central League Hitting Leaders
- Central League Pitching Leaders
- Pacific League Hitting Leaders
- Pacific League Pitching Leaders
- Yuri’s NPB Pitcher Rankings
