Home Japanese Baseball NewsNPB NewslettersSoftBank Hawks Win Interleague

SoftBank Hawks Win Interleague

by Yuri Karasawa
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The defending PL champions stumbled out of the gate with a 9-16-2 record but have since found their stride, going 27-13-1.

The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks are back to their winning ways as the team secured its first interleague title since 2019 and its ninth in franchise history. Dating back to 2005, when interleague play officially started, no other club has won more than two titles. The Pacific League was generally dominant this year, with a combined 62-43-2 record against the Central League.

Here’s how the interleague standings finished (one more makeup game still pending):

  1. SoftBank Hawks (12-5-1)
  2. Orix Buffaloes (11-7)
  3. Nippon-Ham Fighters (11-7)
  4. Seibu Lions (10-8)
  5. Rakuten Eagles (9-8-1)
  6. Lotte Marines (9-8)
  7. Hiroshima Carp (9-9)
  8. Hanshin Tigers (8-10)
  9. Chunichi Dragons (8-10)
  10. DeNA BayStars (7-11)
  11. Yomiuri Giants (6-10-1)
  12. Yakult Swallows (5-12-1)

Tuesday (June 17)

Tatsuya Imai’s historic night
  • Tatsuya Imai (Lions) threw a two-hit shutout with 17 strikeouts against the BayStars. He broke Daisuke Matsuzaka’s franchise record of 16 strikeouts in a game, set in 2004. Final line: 9.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 17 K, 123 P, 27 Whiffs. Wow!
  • Kohei Arihara (Hawks) threw seven scoreless innings against the Carp.
  • Kota Tatsu became the first Fighters starter since Shohei Ohtani to begin his NPB career with a 5-0 record.

Wednesday (June 18)

Sandro Fabian’s Grand Slam
  • Sandro Fabian (Carp) hit a grand slam to spark an 8-4 comeback over the Hawks.
  • Yuhi Nishidate (Giants) threw seven innings of one-run ball in a 2-1 win over the Fighters. Raidel Martinez recorded his 22nd save while maintaining a flawless 0.00 ERA.

Thursday (June 19)

Jon Duplantier’s 12 K shutout
  • Koki Kitayama (Fighters) took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Giants but Takumi Ohshiro hit a one-out home run.
  • Jon Duplantier (Tigers) threw a 12-strikeout complete game shutout against the Marines.
  • Ryoya Kurihara and Hiroki Minei combined for ten RBI to power the Hawks to a 16-2 blowout over the Carp.

Friday (June 20)

Orix-Yakult Highlights
  • Hiromi Itoh (Fighters) fired a complete game shutout against the Dragons.
  • Takahisa Hayakawa (Eagles) tossed 7 ⅓ scoreless frames in a 4-0 win over the Carp.
  • The Swallows rallied from an 8-3 deficit to tie the game, but the Buffaloes prevailed in extras, 10-8.

Saturday (June 21)

DeNA’s back-to-back-to-back homers
  • Sandro Fabian (Carp) hit two homers.
  • Shugo Maki (BayStars) hit two homers.
  • Shinichi Ohnuki (BayStars) threw a 101-pitch complete game shutout against the Marines.
  • Riku Masuda’s (Giants) go-ahead three-run blast in the seventh inning capped off a 5-2 comeback win over the Lions.

Sunday (June 22)

DeNA-Lotte Highlights
  • The SoftBank Hawks clinched their first interleague title since 2019, finishing with a 12-5-1 record.
  • The Marines scored seven runs in the first two innings off Trevor Bauer and held on to win, 10-9.
  • Rowan Wick (BayStars) threw an immaculate inning.
  • Yuto Nakamura (Swallows) made his NPB debut, allowing just one run in five innings.

Central League Standings

Pacific League Standings

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