550Yomiuri Giants RHP Forrest Whitley delivered the best performance of his NPB career on Saturday, coming four outs shy of a no-hitter (Photo: Nikkan Sports)
With the Saitama Seibu Lions having secured the first interleague title in franchise history earlier in the week, Nippon Professional Baseball resumed regular league play on Friday as clubs began their push toward the All-Star break and the second half of the season.
The week also brought major news out of Sendai as the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles unexpectedly hired former Chiba Lotte Marines skipper Masato Yoshii to take over the helm from interim manager Tatsuya Shiokawa. Yoshii managed his first game with Rakuten on Friday night, an 8-5 loss to his former club in Chiba.
Now, let’s recap the weekend’s biggest performances.
Friday (6/19)
Ryo Ohta’s clutch heroics
Ryo Ohta (Buffaloes) delivered a game-tying home run in the ninth and a walk-off hit in the tenth inning in a 6-5 comeback over the Lions.
Yusuke Ohyama (Tigers) homered twice in an 11-3 rout of the BayStars.
Saturday (6/20)
Forrest Whitley’s electric night
Chihiro Sumida (Lions) threw a complete game shutout against the Buffaloes.
Forrest Whitley (Giants) took a no-hitter in the eighth inning and struck out 10 batters in a 1-0 win against the Dragons.
Kensuke Kondoh (Hawks) hit two home runs with seven RBI in a 10-7 win versus the Fighters.
Jose Osuna (Swallows) smashed two homers in an 8-6 loss to the Carp.
Sunday (6/21)
Ryoya Kurihara becomes the first NPB player to hit 20 homers this season
Ryoya Kurihara (Hawks) crushed his 20th home run in an 8-0 win over the Fighters. SoftBank improved to 10-1 in head-to-head games against Nipponham this season.
Koki Yamaguchi (Marines) belted his 10th homer in a 7-4 win against the Eagles.
Haruto Takahashi (Tigers) fired his fifth complete game of the season in a 2-1 victory versus the BayStars.
