The balls were still flying in Fukuoka on Saturday, the second day of the season, when we had two complete-game shutouts, and hope that one of this year’s new managers might not be a cookie-cutter tactician.
A different look perhaps
I watched bits of two days’ worth of games, and I’ve already seen new Swallows skipper Takahiro Ikeyama make three trips to the mound and bat his starting pitcher eighth.
I liked previous skipper Shingo Takatsu’s basic approach to pitching, which was to challenge batters in the zone and get ahead in counts, but his defensive predictability was maddening.
Any time a manager acts differently from the rest of the crowd, that’s a sign of hope that he might be comfortable acting differently–an incredible challenge in Japanese society. There is nothing worse than watching a game and guessing how a manager will react in a given situation – simply because that’s the orthodox response to the problem.
As a player, Ikeyama was a shortstop whose defensive skills were constantly underrated because he had the temerity to be a power hitter at a position traditionally reserved in Japan for good-bunting, swift slap hitters. So here’s hoping he breaks the mold as a manager as well.
Saturday’s games
Hawks 6, Fighters 4: Nippon Ham’s Yuki James Nomura and Rodolfo Castro kept the Fukuoka home run barrage firing with solo shots off lefty Haru Matsumoto, but he would strike out eight and limit the Fighters to just two runs over six innings. SoftBank, however, scored five in the fifth with three coming on Kensuke Kondo’s second double of the game. Hotaka Yamakawa singled in the inning’s final run and homered in the eighth to seal it.
Tigers 2, Giants 0: Hanshin lefty Haruto Takahashi threw a 112-pitch three-hit shutout, and Takumu Nakano reached base four times and scored both of the Tigers’ runs. New import Spencer Howard struck out seven over six innings. He allowed four hits and four walks and one unearned run.
Marines 11, Lions 0: Lotte’s Haruya Tanaka allowed five hits and hit a batter over six innings, and three relievers retired the last nine Lions. Misho Nishikawa, the Marines’ top draft pick in 2025 delivered three run-scoring hits, and Neftali Soto blasted a two-run homer in the Marines’ seven-run sixth. Natsuki Takeuchi, the PL’s 2024 rookie of the year, coming of a poor 2025, allowed four runs over five innings.
Swallows 5, BayStars 2: Yakult lefty Taichi Yamano, who celebrated his 27th birthday last week, had reason to celebrate Saturday, when he batted eighth, singled in the game’s first run and then held the BayStars to two runs on eight hits over six innings. New Swallows import Jose Quijada earned his second save in two games.
Buffaloes 6, Eagles 0: Orix’s Allen Kuri struck out 12 without issuing a walk and allowing four singles in a 132-pitch shutout. Keita Nakagawa opened the scoring with a two-run homer, doubled and then singled in two runs in the Buffaloes’ four-run seventh.
Carp 2, Dragons 1: First-year Carp import Freddy Tarnok spun seven scoreless innings thanks to a super throw from rookie center fielder Ren Hirakawa, Hiroshima’s top draft pick last autumn to cut down a run at the plate. Tarnok, who doubled in the sixth, was in line for the win after Dragons rookie Yorinosuke Sakurai issued a two-out bases-loaded walk in the seventh. Chunichi tied it in the top of the eighth. Rodeo cowboy Taylor Hearn put out the fire by retiring Yuki Okabayashi and earned the win when Sandro Fabian untied it with an RBI single in the home half.
