Franmil Reyes will hit free agency this offseason, coming off back-to-back 30+ home run campaigns (Photo: Pacific League TV)
This week in Nippon Professional Baseball, Teruaki Sato strengthened his Central League Triple Crown (.320 AVG, 35 HR, 92 RBI) bid with five more home runs, Franmil Reyes reached 30 bombs for the second consecutive season, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars boosted their postseason chances by opening a 4.5-game lead over the Tokyo Yakult Swallows for third place, and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks lowered their magic number to clinch the Pacific League pennant to 14. Let’s dive in.
Tuesday (9/1)
Rui Muneyama’s double-dong game
Rui Muneyama (Eagles) swatted 2 home runs in a 5-1 win over the Buffaloes.
Shuta Takano (Marines) hurled 7 shutout innings in his first start of the season to help beat the Lions, 1-0.
Teruaki Sato (Tigers) smashed his 31st homer in a 6-2 victory versus the Swallows.
Yusei Ishizuka (Giants) registered his first career walk-off against the BayStars.
Wednesday (9/2)
Tatsu & Uwasawa’s pitching duel
Kosei Shoji (Eagles) tossed 8 shutout innings with 11 punchouts in a 4-0 win over the Buffaloes.
Kota Tatsu (Fighters) and Naoyuki Uwasawa (Hawks) each struck out 10 batters over 8 innings in a 1-1 tie.
Taichi Yamano (Swallows) went 7 innings with just 2 runs allowed against the Tigers to secure his 10th win of the season.
Thursday (9/3)
Teruaki Sato’s multi-homer night
Teruaki Sato (Tigers) hit his 33rd and 34th homers of the year in a 7-4 win against the Swallows, bolstering his grip on the CL Triple Crown.
Ryoji Kuribayashi (Carp) struck out 10 hitters over 7 frames in a 5-2 victory versus the Dragons.
Friday (9/4)
Franmil Reyes reaches the 30 HR mark for the second straight year
Kazuyuki Takemaru (Giants) struck out 10 over 6 scoreless innings in a 3-1 win against the Carp.
Franmil Reyes (Fighters) smashed his 30th homer in a 5-2 victory versus the Eagles.
Tatsuru Yanagimachi (Hawks) homered for the first time this season in an 8-2 win over the Lions.
Saturday (9/5)
Ryo Ohta’s walk-off knock
Ryo Ohta (Buffaloes) walked off the Marines in extras.
Ryosuke Ohtsu (Hawks) pitched 7 shutout frames in a 2-0 win versus the Lions.
Takaya Ishikawa (Dragons) belted his 10th homer in an 8-4 win against the Swallows.
Daichi Ishii (Tigers) returned from injury and made his season debut in a 3-2 loss to the BayStars.
The Giants scored 5 runs in the 11th inning to beat the Carp, 10-5.
Sunday (9/6)
Joey Lucchesi’s best start in NPB so far
Shinnosuke Ogasawara (Giants) delivered his first complete game shutout since 2023 against the Carp.
Joey Lucchesi (Marines) threw 7 innings of 1-hit ball in a 3-0 win against the Buffaloes.
Teruaki Sato (Tigers) hit his 35th blast in a 4-1 loss to the BayStars.
Taiga Kojima (Lions) went 4 for 5 with a home run and 4 RBI to help down the Hawks, 5-2.
