NPB news: Sept. 21, 2022

On a Central League Wednesday, with five teams battling for post-season positions, we had only one big showdown game, between Hiroshima and Hanshin, who started the day one back of the third-place Yomiuri Giants, whose manager Tatsunori Hara went all old school on us. In Nagoya, Munetaka Murakami had a difference of opinion about the strike zone with infamous umpire Kazuyuki Shirai.

Wednesday’s games

Giants 2, BayStars 1: At Yokohama Stadium, Hara pulled out all the stops, and by that I mean he waved his sacrifice bunt wand.

Hara had slugging catcher Takumi Oshiro bunt two runners into scoring position in the fifth from where the go-ahead run could score on a groundout. Cleanup hitter Sho Nakata, who singled in the game’s first run, was asked to lay one down in the sixth with two on and no out. He got the job done, the next batter walked to load the bases.

Wednesday’s trio of Pro Yakyu News analysts, Hiroki Nomura, Tsutomu Iwamoto and Kenji Tomashino were doing their job to hold up the righteousness of the sacrifice bunt.

“Having Nakata bunt electrified the Giants bench. It’s special,” Tomashino said, to which Nomura and Iwamoto heartily agreed.

Including the subsequent walk, the Giants responded to being electrified by going into offensive shock making outs in 11 of their final 12 plate appearances.

Continue reading NPB news: Sept. 21, 2022

NPB news: Sept. 20, 2022

We have three big pennant-race and playoff battles going on involving seven of Japan’s 12 teams. Sure the Swallows and BayStars haven’t etched the Central League’s top-two slots in stone yet, but DeNA started Tuesday six games out of first place, so while it’s interesting, it’s only a must-win situation for one of those two teams.

The Pacific League-leading Hawks played the last-place Fighters on Tuesday while leading the second-place Buffaloes on winning percentage, with Orix at Lotte where on a rainy night, it wasn’t the rain that forced a 20-minute delay.

I missed a four-game series, which we have every few years at this time, and because I missed it, the rumor of the Lions being swept by the Eagles was greatly exaggerated ahead of Tuesday’s finale as those two clubs slug it out for the the PL’s final playoff spot.

The Hanshin Tigers went into Tuesday’s game with DeNA in third place but leading the Hiroshima Carp and Yomiuri Giants on just winning percentage.

Tuesday’s games

Hawks 3, Fighters 1: At Sapporo Dome, Yuki Yangita hit a solo homer, his 21st, en route to a 3-0 Hawks lead. Shuta Ishikawa (7-9) gave up his first hits in the sixth, when Takuya Nakashima doubled in a run with one out. Ishikawa issued a walk, and manager Hiroshi Fujimoto began playing pitcher roulette.

The next reliever issued a walk and was gone, but Yuki Tsumori got an inning-ending double play. Former closer Yuito Mori loaded the bases and was gone, and Nippon Ham left the bases jammed again. After four relievers in two innings, Yuki Matsumoto and Koya Fujii closed it out with Fujii getting his third save.

Continue reading NPB news: Sept. 20, 2022

writing & research on Japanese baseball

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