Home Japanese Baseball NewsNPB Newsletters Iori Yamasaki Extends Scoreless Inning Streak to 35

Iori Yamasaki Extends Scoreless Inning Streak to 35

by Yuri Karasawa
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Yomiuri Giants RHP Iori Yamasaki has thrown 35 consecutive scoreless innings to open the 2025 season.

Yomiuri Giants starter Iori Yamasaki makes history with 35 consecutive scoreless innings to start the season, reigning CPBL MVP Ruei Yang Gu Lin picks up his first career NPB victory, Hiroshima Carp southpaw Hiroki Tokoda pitches a shutout with zero strikeouts, and Hanshin Tigers star Teruaki Sato becomes the first player to reach double-digit home runs this season.

All that and more in this week’s recap.

NPB May Status Report

Tuesday (April 29)

Yusuke Mugitani’s walk-off knock
  • Rookie Yusuke Mugitani (Buffaloes) walked off the Marines.
  • Takuya Kai (Giants) walked off the Carp in extras.
  • Hideaki Wakui (Dragons) picked up a win for his 21st consecutive season.
  • Kona Takahashi (Lions) won his first game in 597 days.
  • Hiromi Itoh struck out nine across nine innings of one-run ball as the Fighters topped the Hawks in extras, 2-1.

Wednesday (April 30)

Iori Yamasaki’s seven shutout frames
  • Daiki Tajima (Buffaloes) threw a two-hit shutout against the Marines.
  • Iori Yamasaki extended his scoreless inning streak to 35, a new NPB record to start the season. The Giants beat the Carp to claim first place over the Tigers in the Central League.

Thursday (May 1)

Ruei Yang Gu Lin’s ten strikeouts
  • Teruaki Sato (Tigers) became the first NPB player this season to reach ten home runs.
  • Ruei Yang Gu Lin (Fighters) struck out ten across seven innings while allowing two runs for his first win in NPB.
  • The Lions walked it off for their fifth straight win.
  • Naoki Yoshikawa (Giants) walked off the Carp in extras.

Friday (May 2)

Hikaru Kawase’s walk-off

Saturday (May 3)

Tatsuya Imai’s ten strikeouts
  • Trevor Bauer threw his first complete game shutout in NPB. His battery mate Shion Matsuo drove in the only run of the day as the BayStars took down the Giants, 1-0.
  • Hiroki Tokoda (Carp) threw a complete game shutout with zero strikeouts. His opponent, Takahiro Matsuba (Dragons), also had no strikeouts in seven innings. Old school!
  • Tatsuya Imai (Lions) struck out ten in seven scoreless frames to lower his ERA to 0.59.

Sunday (May 4)

Rakuten’s 20 hits and 14 runs
  • Takeya Nakamura (Lions) hit his 480th career home run.
  • Foster Griffin (Giants) pitched six shutout innings in his first start of the season.
  • The Eagles blew out the Buffaloes, 14-3.

Central League Standings

Pacific League Standings

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