Category Archives: Baseball

NPB news: Sept. 22, 2023

Three games were scheduled for Friday, but rain prevented the Yakult Swallows and Hanshin Tigers from playing a meaningless contest at Jingu Stadium, and forced the umps to call the Chunichi Dragons game against the DeNA Deniers in Yokohama. DeNA is one game back of the second-place Hiroshima Carp and three ahead of the fourth-place Yomiuri Giants.

The Pacific League’s lone game was meaningful for the Rakuten Eagles, who started the day 1-1/2 games back of the third-place SoftBank Hawks, who currently occupy the PL’s last playoff spot.

Off the field, Nippon Professional Baseball has approved the qualifications of one team aspiring to join NPB as a minor league team in 2024.

Friday’s game

Fighters 3, Eagles 0: At Miyagi Stadium, Nippon Ham rookie Shoma Kanemura (2-1) returned to the majors, threw 6-2/3 impressive innings and declared himself fit and cured of his strikeout fixation.

Kanemura, who was sidelined with shoulder discomfort in April after four starts in which he struck out six-plus batters each game, began pitching in the minors in July and after striking out more than one batter per inning in both the minors and the majors, fanned just three Eagles.

“I was really nervous, pitching for the first time in so long, but I was able to pitch the way I need to,” he said.

Continue reading NPB news: Sept. 22, 2023

NPB news: Sept. 21, 2023

I need to apologize for being AWOL for the past few days as some big games took place. Since I came back from vacation, both league pennants were settled, and for the first time since the Nankai Hawks and Hanshin Tigers won their leagues in 1964, two Kansai teams are champions in the same year – largely because the Tigers have never had a dynasty the way the Hawks did in Osaka and the Hankyu Braves did up the hill at Nishinomiya Stadium before both franchises were sold after the 1988 season.

With the Buffaloes clinching on Wednesday, attention turned to the two tight battles for second and third in each league, while a player, who was at the forefront of a revolution in Japanese baseball, called it quits.

Thursday’s games

Hawks 4, Marines 2: At Fukuoka Dome, SoftBank’s former Fighters, Kensuke Kondo and Kohei Arihara (9-4) were the difference. Kondo’s 23rd home run made it 4-1 in the first inning after Gregory Polanco retained his share of the PL home run lead with his 25th in the top of the inning.

Atsuki Taneichi (10-6) struck out five straight after Kondo’s home run, and his seven Ks over five innings pushed him into the league lead with 153, ahead of Yoshinobu Yamamoto‘s 148.

The third-place Hawks, whose only losing records this season are against the two teams they’re tussling with for two playoff spots, the Marines and Eagles, moved to within a game of the Marines, and pulled 1-1/2 in front of the Eagles.

Continue reading NPB news: Sept. 21, 2023