Tomorrow marks the beginning of the annual three-week interleague schedule! The past two seasons have seen the Central barely hold the edge over Pacific, but to me, the more interesting thing is that this short 18-game segment often goes a long way towards dictating teams’ fate the rest of the year. Here’s a look at what each team has done well so far this year, and what they could use a little more of.
The Teams With Winning Records
CL Hanshin Tigers (31-14-1): When you lead the league in runs scored (189) and allow the fewest (131), you’re going to win games in bunches. They have won 15 of their last 16, thanks largely to their league-best 2.64 ERA. The one area they could improve is power, as their 26 home runs are the second-fewest in the CL.
PL Chiba Lotte Marines (25-15-2): Roki Sasaki spearheads a strong rotation and a staff with a PL-best 2.68 ERA. The team also has the fewest errors in NPB with just 11. They have lost just 3 games at home this year. Their biggest weakness is in the power department, as they have hit a PL-low 24 home runs.
PL Orix Buffaloes (26-19-2): The loss of Masataka Yoshida (Red Sox) has not been felt when it comes to offensive production – they lead the PL with 38 home runs. Pitching remains a forte as well, although not as dominant as it was last year when they won the Japan Series. For a team so high in the standings, their home record of 14-11-1 is not very impressive, either.
PL Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (23-18-2): They’ve held their own against every PL opponent and boast a robust 14-6 home record so far. Their back-end bullpen (foreign relievers Livan Moinelo and Roberto Osuna have ERAs of 1.13 and 0.00 respectively) is lethal, but their foreign bats leave much to be desired. Freddy Galvis and Willans Astudillo are slashing .152/.176/.152 and .133/.235/.167, respectively.
CL Yokohama DeNA Baystars (24-19-1): Their .263 team average ranks highest in the CL, and until a recent slump, Toshiro Miyazaki was hitting well above .400 on the year. Just like last year, they are hard to beat at home (14-5-1). Their lack of speed (8 team stolen bases) and atrocious May pitching have led to them cooling off significantly in recent weeks.
CL Hiroshima Carp (24-22): They beat the teams below them in the standings (18-10) while struggling against the others (6-12). Starting pitchers have started giving up more home runs of late (15 in May), and while their high-leverage relievers have been strong, the rest of the bullpen has lacked stability.
The Sub-.500 Clubs
CL Yomiuri Giants (23-24): The most powerful team in NPB has 52 home runs but just 11 stolen bases. They have the worst ERA in NPB (4.01) due in part to the bullpen’s 6.65 ERA so far this month. If they played the Swallows (7-2) more they would have a much healthier record…
PL Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (21-27): Pitching has been a pleasant surprise, and run production has been OK as well (155 ranks 2nd in the PL). However, a low success rate on stolen base attempts (54.2%) and poor fielding (34 is far and away the most in the PL) have done them in. Not to mention their bullpen, which has been hung with 10 losses on the year already.
PL Saitama Seibu Lions (19-26-1): Some good starting pitching (28 quality starts is tops in the PL) and the lightest burden on their relievers (3.08 innings per game) put them in a position to win more often than not. However, their poor run production (2.85 runs per game is lowest in the PL), which comes from a lack of clutch hitting (.187 with runners in scoring position) has them just a game out of last place.
PL Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (17-26-1): Home runs (37) and stolen bases (36) come quite easily, but runs (129) do not. Their team batting average of .209 is a big reason for that. They boast the highest ERA in the PL (3.28) as well.
CL Tokyo Yakult Swallows (17-28-2): The two-time defending CL champs started the year with the best overall pitching staff, but this month, they have allowed an average of more than five earned runs per nine. They lead the CL with 27 stolen bases but reaching base has been a problem, as their .650 OPS is second-lowest in the CL – not a good look for a team that boasts Munetaka Murakami among others, and plays in arguably the most hitter-friendly park in Japan.
CL Chunichi Dragons (17-29): Simply put, this team struggles to score runs (123 is dead last in NPB, as are their 18 home runs). They also have just 10 stolen bases on the year, which is good for 11th in Japan. Their pitching staff is holding their own (2.82 ERA is second-best in the CL) but their fielders’ 35 errors have put more strain on their arms and have no doubt caused them greater anxiety as well.
Good Week: Tigers (6-0), Buffaloes (5-1), Marines (5-1)
Rough Week: Swallows (0-6)
