Japan’s annual interleague session started Tuesday with the Central League on the road for the first three-game series. On Opening Night, pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shoki Murakami, Shota Imanaga and Yuji Nishino showing their stuff off to the other league, and 23-year-old Chusei Mannami won a battle of the ages in Hokkaido to take over the Pacific League home run lead.
In case you missed it, I published my research about the Yomiuri Giants’ remarkable record in getting called strikes in 0-0 and 1-0 counts from 2009 to 2019.
Tuesday’s games
Tigers 3, Lions 1: At Seibu Dome, Shoki Murakami (5-1) returned to Seibu two years to the day after he got shelled in his pro debut. After two years of dominating the Western League, the 24-year-old returned and showed Seibu a thing or two, striking out nine, walking none and allowing a run over eight innings.
“I didn’t like this ballpark, but I do now,” he said after Hanshin won its ninth straight, the team’s longest win streak in 16 years.
Triples by Koji Chikamoto and Takumu Nakano, and a Sheldon Neuse RBI groundout made it 2-0 in the first, and Neuse singled in an insurance run after the Lions made it a one-run game, and Atsuki Yuasa worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save.
Marines 2, Giants 1: At Chiba Marine Stadium, Yuji Nishino (6-1) struck out five without a walk, while allowing one run over seven innings as the former closer hurled his fifth quality start in six games. Tatsuhiro Tamura homered in the second for the Marines, who faced a bullpen game from the Giants, and Koki Yamaguchi made it 2-0 in the fourth.
Kazuma Okamoto singled and doubled for two of the Giants’ five hits and scored their only run. Former Giant Hirokazu Sawamura, looking like a vengeful hairy buddha, struck out two in the eighth and Naoya Masuda struck out the side in the ninth for his 14th save.
Fighters 2, Swallows 1: At Kitahiroshima Taxpayers’ Burden Field, 23-year-old Chusei Mannami hit his 10th and 11th home runs, off 43-year-old Masanori Ishikawa (1-3), who gave the struggling Swallows seven innings, his longest start since June.
DenialStars 3, Eagles 2: At Miyagi Stadium, Shota Imanaga (3-1) also allowed two homers to one hitter, Hideto Asamura, who hit his ninth and 10th stay one back of Mannami, but unlike Ishikawa got some run support. Shugo Maki went 3-for-4 with a walk an RBI single and a tie-breaking ninth-inning home run, his 10th.
Buffaloes 4, Carp 0: At Osaka Dome, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (4-2) struck out eight in eight innings while allowing two hits and walking none to outduel Daichi Osera (2-4) who allowed two runs over seven.
Hawks 13, Dragons 5: At Fukuoka Dome, four different Hawks had multiple hits, and Dragons reliever Yuki Hashimoto became the first pitcher to hit three straight batters in interleague.
The score after Day 1, PL 4, CL, 24 runs to 13, about par for the course.
