The Buffaloes and Eagles went into Monday’s games poised to sweep their series and completely throw the PL pennant race in complete disarray, while DeNA played the Giants in the only CL game that was not disrupted by a typhoon, and needing a win to shave a half-game off the idle Yakult Swallows’ lead.
Let’s get to ‘em.
Buffaloes 5, Hawks 4, 10 innings: At Osaka Dome, Masataka Yoshida drove in four runs, including two with a first-inning home run, his 19th, off Nao Higashihama, who allowed four in two-plus innings. Yoshida’s third-inning RBI single made it 4-0 and chased the Hawks starter.
The Yakult Swallows went from being a fish food feast to creating famine in Yokohama, while the Pacific League lead changed again and another pitcher may be headed to the next “Yuki Yanagita got me too” support group, while Adam Walker had a big game, and Hiroto Kobukata made sure the PL playoff is not exclusively about three teams.
Before we get into it, one of my favorite unbelievable Yanagita homers, from the May 26, 2021, interleague game against the Giants.
Let’s get to the games:
Swallows 1, BayStars 0: At Yokohama Stadium, Yasuhiro Ogawa (7-6) went seven innings, allowing five hits but no walks while striking out four and singling in the game’s only run in the fifth inning off Shinichi Onuki (10-7). This game was not that close as Yakult stranded 10 runners. Noboru Shimizu and Scott McGough each allowed a hit in a scoreless inning with McGough earning his 36th save.
