The Central League standings through six weeks of regular season baseball could hardly be tighter. Meanwhile, the Pacific League is looking like a runaway for yesteryear’s juggernaut. Here’s a look at the best game from every day this past week!
Monday: MLB returnee Yoshitomo Tsutsugo made his return to the Yokohama DeNA Baystars’ top squad and helped spark a four-run eighth inning rally. His three-run home run allowed his team to come from behind to defeat the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 6-5 in Yokohama.
Tuesday: Do the Yomiuri Giants have a new ace? Iori Yamasaki took the team on his shoulders, avenging his club’s 2-0 shutout loss the previous day. He went the distance, allowing his team to win by the same margin over the Chunichi Dragons on this night. Out west, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks walked off the Nippon-Ham Fighters in the bottom of the twelfth inning, winning by a 2-1 margin. In fact, the only out that two-way youngster Kota Yazawa recorded in the final frame was the Ukyo Shuto sacrifice fly that allowed the winning run to score.
Wednesday: The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles got to Orix Buffaloes’ ace Hiroya Miyagi early and often, sending him to the showers after just four innings. Only one of the three runs surrendered went on Miyagi’s tab, though he allowed ten base runners before sitting down. The Eagles took the game handily, 4-1.
Friday: The Fighters played host to Roki Sasaki and the Chiba Lotte Marines, and welcomed them the reality that these Fighters are for real! They tagged Sasaki for five runs on eight hits and five walks (in five innings), ultimately winning the match 6-3.
Saturday: Once again, Tsutsugo and the Baystars used the crowd to propel them to late-inning heroics, coming all the way back from a 2-9 deficit against the Hanshin Tigers. They scored one in the fourth, four in the fifth, and then in the bottom of the eighth, Tatsuya Ebina, Tsutsugo, and Shugo Maki hit home runs to complete the comeback. They defeated the Tigers 11-9 in what was easily the wildest game of the week.
Sunday: On this day, players wore pink (wrist bands, elbow guards, spikes, you name it) in honor of their mothers. Even umpires wore pink protectors! The Fighters completed their sweep of the Marines, scoring three runs in the bottom of the ninth, getting four hits and a walk out of the Marines’ relievers, en route to a 6-5 walk-off victory.
Good Week: Hawks (4-0), Giants (4-2), Carp (3-1)
Rough Week: No one!
For standings and leaderboards, check these links:
- NPB Standings
- Central League Hitting Leaders
- Central League Pitching Leaders
- Pacific League Hitting Leaders
- Pacific League Pitching Leaders
