Two Pacific Leaguers continued on a home run tear Thursday, Seibu’s 2018 MVP Hotaka Yamakawa, and Nippon Ham’s Yuma Igawa, who’s taken full advantage of a Fighters’ home series at the Tokyo Dome launching pad.
Meanwhile, we had a huge comeback in the Central League, while the Nikkan Sports reminded us that no comebacks can be expected in the CL pennant race since all 21 teams in Japanese pro baseball history to win 20 of their first 29 game have gone on to win the pennant.
There were four preseason exhibition games, known in Japan as “open games,” on Thursday. This told us precious little about what to expect when Nippon Professional Baseball’s major leagues open their season on March 25, except that there will be a season, which given the bullshit being spread around by MLB owners, is encouraging.
A day after looking as over-matched at the plate as they did much of the 2021 season, the Chunichi Dragons bounced back to beat the SoftBank Hawks 5-3. The Dragons’ second-round pick, outfielder Kosuke Wakai, bounced back from a two-strikeout game on Wednesday with a double, a homer two runs and two RBIs.
