The coronavirus is marching through the NPB schedule like William Tecumseh Sherman’s road trip through Georgia. Although no additional games were canceled Wednesday, the Hanshin Tigers lost their scheduled starting pitchers for Thursday, Masashi Ito, and Friday, Shintaro Fujinami.
Meanwhile, Tsuyoshi Shinjo and the Nippon Ham Fighters put their only winning streak on the line at Seibu Dome, where they come face to face with “the whip.”
Ready to go? Let’s get started.
Lions 4, Fighters 3: At Seibu Dome, Junichiro Kishi singled and scored on a first-inning Brian O’Grady double off right-hander Kazuaki Tateno (1-1). Wu Nien-ting then singled in O’Grady for a 2-0 Lions lead.
The SoftBank Hawks’ season-opening win streak came to a whimpering end on Wednesday when one run scored thanks to a mishandled ball in the outfield and two more came in thanks to Japan’s favorite go-to play, bringing the outfield in with two outs and a big run on second.
Japanese fans began salivating at the idea of former Lion Shogo Akiyama beating a hasty return to Japan to play for THEIR team after he his release by the Cincinnati Reds only for one team’s skipper to throw water on that idea.
Ready? Let’s go.
Eagles not interested in Akiyama
Kazuhisa Ishii made history on Wednesday, the Rakuten Eagles skipper and general manager becoming the first in team history to admit the club was not coveting an available former Seibu Lions star, Sankei Sports reported.
