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NPB news: Sept. 18, 2022

Hawks manager Hiroshi Fujimoto challenged his ace Kodai Senga to be as good on Sunday as Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto had been against them on Saturday, and a second-straight pitchers’ duel ensued between SoftBank and Orix, whose starter had also been challenged the day before, by Yamamoto.

Atsushi Kittaka, who before Kazuyuki Shirai was the Japanese umpire most famously associated with in-game trouble, got a round of applause at a ballpark where he made one of his most infamous marks, although a rumor of him finally getting hit by a ball thrown by a pitcher were exaggerated.

Kittaka has an impressive resume of issues, but at Koshien on July 31, 1998, Giants pitcher Balvino Galvez took issue with the ump squeezing his strike zone, and when he was being lifted from the game after surrendering a home run, he heaved a ball across the diamond at Kittaka. Galvez missed him but was suspended for the rest of the season.

Sunday’s game was Kittaka’s 3,000th, and he received a warm round of applause from the fans and a bouquet of flowers was handed to him rather than thrown at him.

Let’s get to the games, shall we?

Buffaloes 2, Hawks 0: At Osaka Dome, Hiroya Miyagi (11-7) allowed an infield single, a walk, and a hit batsman, all in the same fourth inning, and left the bases loaded while bowling four perfect frames to earn the win.

Continue reading NPB news: Sept. 18, 2022

NPB news: Sept. 16, 2022

We entered the weekend with the Central League-leading Yakult Swallows having a magic number of 10 and Munetaka Murakami on fire as they went into their game against the Chunichi Dragons, who have won 12 of their first 21 games.

In the Pacific League, the SoftBank Hawks are in a similar position, with Yuki Yanagita on fire, and having won five straight.

The games:

Hawks 7, Eagles 3: At Miyagi Stadium, Yuki Yanagita hit a three-run first-inning home run off Hideaki Wakui (4-2) his 20th of the season and his second in two days. Former closer Yuito Mori worked three innings and allowed a solo homer to Rakuten catcher Hikaru Ota in the third. Daichi Suzuki made it a one-run game in the fourth when he doubled in Hideto Asamura off Keisuke Izumi.

Continue reading NPB news: Sept. 16, 2022