After a busy week of NPB action, the Central League pennant race is still a dogfight, with the Hiroshima Carp leading the Yomiuri Giants by one game. In the Pacific League, the SoftBank Hawks’ magic number is down to 23, while the Lotte Marines and Nippon-Ham Fighters are now tied for second place. Let’s break it all down!
Monday
21-year-old rookie Ren Fukushima flirted with a no-hitter into the 7th inning against the Seibu Lions as the Nippon-Ham Fighters won their sixth straight game. Seibu, losers of seven straight, are on pace to become just the second team in NPB history to lose 100 games.
Tuesday
SoftBank Hawks superstars Kensuke Kondoh and Livan Moinelo delivered as the former hit two homers, and the latter earned the first complete game win of his career. Rakuten Eagles ace Takahisa Hayakawa shut out the Buffaloes with nine strikeouts, facing just 27 batters. There was also a rare bench clearing in the Swallows-Dragons game after a hit batter by Chunichi closer Raidel Martinez. The battle for last place in the CL is getting spicy!
Wednesday
Yomiuri Giants ace Shosei Togo threw his second straight complete game shutout, blanking the Tigers on 126 pitches. The Hiroshima Carp overcame a 3-1 deficit in the 9th as veteran Ryosuke Kikuchi cranked a walk-off three-run home run off BayStars closer Kohei Morihara. Munetaka Murakami (Swallows) joined the fun with a walk-off hit of his own in extras.
Thursday
Hotaka Yamakawa (Hawks) hit not one, not two, but THREE home runs to extend his NPB lead to 26. Roki Sasaki (Marines) had to exit his start for precautionary reasons in the 2nd inning after taking a comebacker off his left ankle. He’s doing fine and is expected to make his next start on schedule.
Friday
Half the games were canceled due to Typhoon Ampil. Kohei Arihara (Hawks) shut out the Marines, barely missing a Maddux. Hotaka Yamakawa hit yet another homer for his fifth since Monday and his eighth since August 8.
Saturday
Hiroshima Carp slugger Shota Suekane smacked two homers in a losing effort as Daichi Ohsera allowed more than three earned runs in a game for the first time this season. Led by Kazuma Okamoto, who hit his 18th dinger of the campaign, the Yomiuri Giants dismantled the DeNA BayStars, 11-1.
Sunday
Reigning PL Rookie of the Year Shunpeita Yamashita (Buffaloes) had one of his best starts of the season, striking out nine Fighters over five frames. DeNA BayStars first baseman Tyler Austin got his 20th homer of the year in style as he walked off the Yomiuri Giants in extra innings.
This Week’s Team Records
Orix Buffaloes (5-2)
SoftBank Hawks (5-2)
Yomiuri Giants (3-2)
Yakult Swallows (3-2)
Hiroshima Carp (3-2)
Chunichi Dragons (3-2-1)
Rakuten Eagles (3-3)
Nippon-Ham Fighters (3-4)
DeNA BayStars (2-3)
Seibu Lions (2-4)
Lotte Marines (2-5)
Hanshin Tigers (1-4-1)
- NPB Standings
- Central League Hitting Leaders
- Central League Pitching Leaders
- Pacific League Hitting Leaders
- Pacific League Pitching Leaders
- Yuri’s NPB Pitcher Rankings
