Tag Archives: Leandro Cedeno

NPB news: April 5, 2025 “It can’t get worse than this”

That’s what Hawks manager Hiroki Kokubo said Saturday after SoftBank’s second straight loss to the Seibu Lions, the Hawks’ fifth straight at home. Of course, there are many things worse than being in last place seven games into the season, but we get it.

In other news Saturday, we had yet another impressive import pitching debut in a game that featured a milestone home run and an immaculate inning from an unlikely hurler, while the Hiroshima Carp and DeNA BayStars played a game of closer Russian roulette.

Saturday’s games

Swallows 2, Dragons 0: At Jingu “Tokyo’s sacrifice to corporate greed and government malfeasance” stadium, Peter Lambert had a fun debut, retiring 15 of the first 16 batters he faced as he changed speeds with a really nice assortment of pitches. Chunichi bases in the sixth with a double, a single and a no-out walk, but Lambert got a fortunate called third strike and a comebacker for an easy as 1-2-3 double play.

I tuned into the game when Lambert was in the batter’s box, and darned if he doesn’t look like a hitter, taking good swings and making good contact. Before I could check his Baseball Reference page, the announcer informed us that he was 9-for-30 as a hitter in MLB. He’s the kind of pitcher some managers might be tempted to bat eighth because of his quality, but as I’ve said over and over again, No. 8 is the spot to put your weakest hitter instead of No. 9, where his outs come before the top of the order.

Yakult only managed five hits, three by Jose Osuna, but one was Tetsuto Yamada‘s 300th career home run, after Osuna doubled to lead off the second. The Swallows bullpen allowed one runner over the final three innings, on a throwing error by Yamada at second, but closed it out with former closer Taichi Ishiyama‘s immaculate inning.

Continue reading NPB news: April 5, 2025 “It can’t get worse than this”

NPB news: March 30, 2025

Our first weekend’s worth of games wrapped up Sunday, when the Nippon Ham Fighters, Lotte Marines and Yomiuri Giants each completed series sweeps. Naoyuki Uwasawa made his Hawks debut only for his nemesis, Neftali Soto, to turn the game Lotte’s way, with Lotte’s go-ahead run scoring on a fluke play. But first, a word from our sponsor.

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Sunday’s games

Fighters 7, Lions 5: At the roofed stadium formerly known as Prince, one long streak ended and another kept rolling.

Nippon Ham opened the season with three straight wins, something no team in the franchise had accomplished since 1962, when the Toei Flyers went on to win the franchise’s first Japan Series. Yuki James Nomura was a wrecking ball, doubling in a first-inning run, hitting a three-run third-inning homer and a two-run shot in the fifth.

Franmil Reyes went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a walk, three runs and an eighth-inning leadoff single that led to the Fighters’ final run after he was pulled for a pinch-runner.

New Lion Tyler Nevin tied the game 1-1 in the first with a sac fly to deep right that Chusei Manami nearly made interesting with a picture-perfect throw to the plate. Shuta Tonosaki homered in the fourth for Seibu, whose starter, Kona Takahashi, suffered his 12th straight losing decision. Leandro Cedeno, who joined Seibu over the winter from Orix, went 2-for-4 with a two-run eighth-inning double.

The Fighters’ Drew VerHagen allowed two runs over five innings to earn the win.

Continue reading NPB news: March 30, 2025