Interleague play is underway in Nippon Professional Baseball, with Central and Pacific League clubs facing off over the next three weeks in one of the most important stretches of the season.
Each team will play a three game series against all six clubs from the opposite league, totaling 18 games from May 26 to June 14, with make-up days scheduled afterward if necessary. The team with the best overall record will be crowned interleague champion.
The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks enter as defending interleague champions, while the Pacific continues to hold the historical edge, having won interleague play in 15 of the 20 seasons since the format was introduced in 2005.
This year’s edition also marks the final season of interleague play without the designated hitter in Central League parks as NPB is set to adopt the universal DH in 2027. Now, let’s recap the first week of action.
Tuesday (5/26)
- Yomiuri Giants manager Shinnosuke Abe resigned after being arrested on suspicion of assaulting his 18-year-old eldest daughter. Abe reportedly stepped in to stop a fight between his two daughters while drunk and lost his temper, pushing the eldest to the ground. He was released from custody and held a press conference to announce his resignation. Coach Hideki Hashigami took over as interim manager.
- Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) threw a complete game shutout with 13 strikeouts in a 4-0 win over the Tigers.
- Allen Kuri (Buffaloes) fired eight innings of one-run ball in a 7-1 victory against the BayStars.
Wednesday (5/27)
- Koki Yamaguchi (Marines) smashed his fifth homer in his last six games in a 5-4 win against the Carp.
- Shosei Togo (Giants) delivered seven innings with one run allowed to help beat the Hawks, 5-1.
- Tyler Nevin (Lions) hit his eighth homer while Domingo Santana (Swallows) hit his 10th homer in a 2-2 tie.
Thursday (5/28)
- Yota Kyoda (BayStars) hit a go-ahead pinch-hit three-run shot in the seventh to beat the Buffaloes, 3-1.
- Ryoya Kurihara (Hawks) belted two homers in an 8-4 win against the Giants.
- Natsuki Takeuchi (Lions) threw six shutout frames in an 8-0 victory versus the Swallows.
Friday (5/29)
- Tomohisa Ohzeki (Hawks) fired a one-hit complete game shutout versus the Carp.
- Haruto Takahashi (Tigers) tossed eight scoreless innings and lowered his ERA to 0.86 in a 1-0 win against the Marines.
- Tyler Nevin (Lions) smashed his ninth homer in a 13-4 rout of the BayStars.
- Carson McCusker (Eagles) hit his first NPB home run in a 7-2 loss to the Swallows.
Saturday (5/30)
- Chihiro Sumida (Lions) hurled a complete game shutout against the BayStars.
- Yuhi Nishidate (Giants) threw six shutout innings in his season debut to help beat the Fighters, 5-3.
- Shota Morishita (Tigers) hit his 13th and 14th home runs in a 4-3 victory versus the Marines. Teruaki Sato also smashed his 14th long ball.
Sunday (5/31)
- Shuto Ogata (BayStars) made his first start since being traded for Yuudai Yamamoto, throwing five shutout innings with seven strikeouts. His fastball topped out at 99 mph.
- Chusei Mannami (Fighters) hit his 12th homer in a 3-0 win against the Giants.
- Ryoma Nishikawa (Buffaloes) went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI in a 7-5 win against the Dragons.
- Jo-Hsi Hsu (Hawks) tossed six shutout innings in a 3-1 win versus the Carp.
- Yasunobu Okugawa (Swallows) delivered seven innings of one-run ball to help sweep the Eagles.
