Ryan McBroom went boom again, but this time the Yomiuri Giants had an answer, while the Yakult Swallows gave a side-arm novice a ton of run support, the SoftBank Hawks got a huge start from the inconsistent Shuta Ishikawa, and the Rakuten Eagles pretty much crushed the life out of the Lotte Marines.

On another note, Koji Chikamoto extended his hitting streak for the Hanshin Tigers, which led to one of those fiery arguments on the Japan Baseball Weekly Podcast that John E. Gibson and I were once known for, not about the hitting streak but about something we see so differently, the value of player contributions to wins. So if you get a chance, listen in when that drops Monday morning. This week’s show also includes a super interview with McBroom, and is packed.

So let’s get to Sunday’s games and the details of the trouble and strife between podcast partners.