It’s interleague time! For the next three weeks, the teams will face opponents from the other league – six three-game sets, half of which will be on home turf, and half on the road. The designated hitter will be used when the PL hosts games (May 31-June 2, June 11-16), and all pitchers will hit during games at CL ballparks (May 28-30, June 4-9). Here’s some news on each of the twelve teams, short and sweet, for you to digest. Order follows their place in the standings, with the PL teams coming first.
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks: Their lineup put a big hurt on the Eagles early in the week – twenty-one to zero on Tuesday, followed by 12-0 on Wednesday. Ryoya Kurihara hit two bombs in the first of those games, while Hotaka Yamakawa hit two the next day.
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters: They pulled off a walk-off victory against the Buffaloes on Wednesday night, with a leadoff triple from Yuki Nomura and a sacrifice flyer by young catcher Yua Tamiya. On Saturday, lefty Takayuki Katoh fell two pitches shy of a “Maddux” – though he shut out the Eagles on 101 pitches in a 5-0 victory.
Chiba Lotte Marines: They swept the Hawks over the weekend, with big pitching performances from Roki Sasaki (7 IP 1 R), CC Mercedes (8 IP 0 R), and a bullpen day on Sunday. The Marines have not lost a baseball game in two weeks, going 8-0-2 in that stretch.
Orix Buffaloes: Though their run-scoring woes appear to be a thing of the past (33 runs in six games this past week), their pitching has struggled and the result was a 2-4 week. They are six games below .500 and 11 out of first place. The defending PL champs do not look like themselves at all.
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles: While getting shut out three times this past week, at least they ended with a win, snapping their six-game losing streak. This whole season, they have yet to piece together even a three-game winning streak, and they boast the worst pitching numbers in NPB by a longshot.
Saitama Seibu Lions: Things have gotten so bad for the cats that their manager, Kazuo Matsui, has taken a leave of absence from his position. They rode an eight-game losing streak into the weekend, but fortunately won two straight against the Buffaloes. Still, their 15-30 record has them in a deep hole already.
Hanshin Tigers: Despite the second-lowest team batting average in NPB (.223, ahead of only the Lions), as well as the second-most errors in the CL, they are still in first place (by a half-game). They pushed just ten runs across home plate this past week but managed a 3-3 record. Strong pitching, anyone?
Hiroshima Carp: A recent strong spell has them knocking on the door of the penthouse suite occupied by the Tigers. Stingy pitching (33 runs in their 15 most recent games) has them on a 11-4 tear. Only the Hawks (102) have allowed fewer runs than the Carp (106).
Yomiuri Giants: Righty Shosei Togo became the 89th player in NPB history to throw a no-hitter, as he shut out the Tigers on Friday night at Koshien Stadium His lone blemish was a ninth-inning walk, though his bid for a perfect game had been dashed earlier by a couple of errors (including one of his own).
Chunichi Dragons: Humberto Mejia helped his team start the weekend well, throwing seven shutout innings on Saturday against the Swallows in a 1-0 victory. The next day, the bullpen worked together to combine for a second straight shutout, this one a 5-0 win.
Yokohama DeNA Baystars: Despite getting first baseman Tyler Austin back from injury, they lost second baseman Shugo Maki due to pulled hamstring muscles. Making matters worse, Austin re-injured himself while diving for a foul ball in the cameramen’s bench on Saturday. He pinch-hit on Sunday, but his availability for interleague is uncertain.
Tokyo Yakult Swallows: They are also feeling pain after losing center fielder Yasutaka Shiomi to a torn ACL a week ago. Making matters worse, his replacement, Kazuya Maruyama, injured himself running into the outfield wall while making a play on Wednesday.
Good Week: Marines (5-0), Fighters (4-2), Carp (4-2)
Rough Week: Swallows (1-5), Eagles (1-4), Buffaloes (2-4)
- NPB Standings
- Central League Hitting Leaders
- Central League Pitching Leaders
- Pacific League Hitting Leaders
- Pacific League Pitching Leaders
