Tag Archives: Raul Alcantara

NPB news: July 15, 2022

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Between two coronavirus postponements and two rainouts, the Central League-leading Yakult Swallows missed their fourth game in seven days, leaving just two CL games to be played Friday night.

In those games, Shogo Akiyama finally made his presence felt at the plate, while the Hanshin Tigers narrowly avoided being shutout.

The Seibu Lions, meanwhile, who pulled into a virtual tie for first place in the Pacific League on Thursday, announced three more infections Friday in addition to six infections discovered during the week, including shortstop and captain Sosuke Genda and closer Tatsushi Masuda. The team said it would not interrupt baseball activities.

Friday’s games

Tigers 2, Dragons 1: At Koshien Stadium, Hanshin managed three hits and a walk – a walk that preceded Fumiya Hojo’s second-inning home run off rookie Kotaro Ueda (0-3), while Chunichi stranded seven base runners.

Continue reading NPB news: July 15, 2022

NPB news: June 11, 2022

The Yakult Swallows, the lone Central League team with a better record against the Pacific League than against the other five CL teams since 2005, won their second interleague title on Saturday with a game to spare. They became the first team since the 2011 Hawks to have a winning record against all six interleague opponents, although that doesn’t SoftBank’s achievement in the 24-game home-and-away format then in use.

Elsewhere, Chunichi rookie Kosuke Ukai set a CL record, while Roki Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto both pitched, we had a two-run squeeze, and a runner score from first on a stolen base, so there was a lot going on.

Saturday’s games

Swallows 7, Hawks 4: At Fukukuoka Dome, Munetaka Murakami, whose hometown of Kumamoto is 1-1/2 hours from the ballpark by train, batted like he owned the joint, homering for the second straight day with his 18th and 19th of the year, and drove in six runs as the Swallows overcame a three-run deficit to clinch their second interleague title and their first in four years.

Continue reading NPB news: June 11, 2022