The Dragons, who’ve been in first place without one of their best players from last year, outfield Yuki Okabayashi, got him back Friday, when he’ll replace 41-year-old Hiroyuki Nakajima, who was hit on the wrist by a pitch Tuesday. DeNA announced the BayStars’ returning former captain, Yoshitomo Tsutsugo would mark his Japan return Saturday in the Eastern League, while 43-year-old Tsuyoshi Wada‘s pilgrim’s progress to his major league season debut took a weird turn.
In Friday’s games, Munetaka Murakami is starting to look like his younger 22-year-old self, we finally had our first scoreless game, and a manager explains why his team is in last place.
Friday’s games
Swallows 4, BayStars 3: At Jingu “Tokyo’s Sacrifice to Corporate Greed and Governmental Malfeasance” Stadium, Munetaka Murakami went 3-for-4 with a tie-breaking solo home run, his third after Jose Osuna tied it with his third homer in two days. Taichi Ishiyama, the Swallows’ closer between 2018 and 2020, saved his first game since 2021.
DeNA’s Shugo Maki doubled in Ryuki Watarai and Keita Sano in the top of the third off Cy Sneed, and Yakult’s Yasutaka Shiomi singled in Hideki Nagaoka against Katsuki Azuma to make it 2-1 in the home half. DeNA’s Daiki Sekine walked and scored on Toshiro Miyazaki‘s sac fly in the fourth. Shiomi’s sac fly in the home half made it 3-2.
Sneed and Azuma each allowed three runs, with Sneed going five innings and Azuma working six.
The loss dropped the BayStars into sixth place behind Yakult.
“We’re there because they publish standings,” DeNA manager Daisuke Miura said.
Tigers 7, Dragons 0: At Koshien Stadium, Koyo Aoyagi (1-1) pitched out of a second-inning pickle and Hanshin never looked back en route to its fourth straight win. The side-armer struck out seven over six innings and drove in a run.
Seiya Kinami singled in Yusuke Oyama and Teruaki Sato scored on an Aoyagi sac fly in the second off Humberto Mejia (2-2), Shota Morishita homered for Hanshin in the third, and Koji Chikamoto singled home Seishiro Sakamoto in the fourth. Oyama’s first home run of the season made it 5-0 in the fifth. Takumu Nakano drove in the final nail with a two-run eighth-inning double.
Fighters 4, Marines 3: At Kitahiroshima Taxpayers Burden Field, Nippon Ham’s Gosuke Kato walked this one off, taking a 3-2 pitch for Ball 4 with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.
Kotaro Kiyomiya, who was hurt early in spring training, was activated for his season debut. He was 0-for-3 before his ninth-inning leadoff double and a sacrifice encouraged the Marines to load the bases with two intentional walks.
Nippon Ham’s Yuya Gunji singled in Daigo Kawakamibata to break the ice in the third against C.C. Mercedes, but Gregory Polanco hit his third home run, with Yudai Fujioka aboard, off Hiromi Ito in the fourth. Koki Yamaguchi‘s seventh-inning homer made it 3-1 Lotte, but Nippon Ham tied it in the “lucky seventh” on a Franmil Reyes homer and a Tatsuki Mizuno RBI triple.
Lions 5, Eagles 4: At the domed stadium formerly known as “Prince,” Tatsuya Imai (2-0) struck out nine while allowing a run over seven innings to protect a big early lead.
A Junichiro Kishi solo homer and a Ryusei Sato two-run single made it 3-0 Seibu in the first against Takahisa Hayakawa (1-3). Jesus Aguilar, a guest on next week’s Japan Baseball Weekly Podcast, doubled in Kishi in the third, and Shuta Tonosaki scored on a sac fly.
Rakuten snapped a 26-inning scoreless streak in the seventh, when Daichi Suzuki singled in Hideto Asamura. To prove they understood this whole scoring thing. Takero Okajima hit a three-run homer in the eighth.
Albert Abreu worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save since April 10.
Hawks 9, Buffaloes 7: At Fukuoka Dome, Hotaka Yamakawa went off again. After a two-grand slam day on Sunday, Yamakawa only drove in five runs with two RBI singles and a three-run jack that allowed SoftBank to hold off Orix.
Yamakawa and Ryoya Kurihara each singled in a run in the first off Shumpeita Yamashita (0-2. Yuma Tongu hit his third homer in six games in the second, when Orix tied it off Nao Higashihama as Kotaro Kurebayashi singled home Tomoya Mori.
Leandro Cedeno put the Buffaloes in front in the third with a two-run homer, his fifth, before Kensuke Kondo’s two-run shot tied it in the third. Yamakawa then capped a four-run fourth with a three-run homer, his fourth. RBI doubles by Tongu in the fifth, and Kobayashi and Kenya Wakatsuki in the sixth made it a one-run game only for Yamakawa to strike again in the sixth, singling in his fifth run of the game.
Carp 0, Giants 0: At New Hiroshima Citizens Stadium, Yomiuri and Hiroshima played to the eighth game this season in which both teams scored two or fewer runs, although it was the first 0-0 twin shutout but probably won’t be the last. Allen Kuri started and went six for the Carp and Shosei Togo went seven for the Giants.
Wada toed out of start
Tsuyoshi Wada, who had been scheduled to start the Hawks’ home opener on April 2 due to a blister suffered in a minor league tune-up on March 26, was yanked from his Western League rehab start in the fourth inning, due to the skin peeling off his big left toe.
“If you pitch, this sometimes happens,” Hawks pitching coach Shinji Kurano said, although it is the first time I’ve heard it reported.
Wada returned to the mound and threw six scoreless innings in the WL on April 10.
