![[Recap] July Tournament Day 14 - GRAND SUMO Highlights](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww3.nhk.or.jp%2Fnhkworld%2Fen%2Fshows%2F2061809%2Fimages%2Fsns_28GjFaBMypv2wICH6TAIKqVfZnuKyIvkexF9pfqy.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
[Recap] July Tournament Day 14 - GRAND SUMO Highlights
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
8 hours ago
- Japan Times
Return of Munetaka Murakami could get hearts racing at Jingu Stadium again
The Tokyo Yakult Swallows fell back to Earth last week after an inexplicable winning streak left fans daring to dream of a late-season turnaround for the Central League's last-place team. Yakult won eight straight games before hitting the wall — and hitting it hard — with a 14-1 blowout loss against the DeNA BayStars on July 31 and two subsequent defeats against the Hanshin Tigers. The Swallows bounced back with an 8-1 win over the Tigers on Sunday. If the winning streak set hearts racing, the ensuing three-game swoon likely left the Jingu Stadium faithful barely registering a pulse. The Swallows are 33-53-5 with 46 games left and dangerously close to only having pride to play for the rest of the way. The injury-plagued Swallows, though — thanks to some key returns and a new addition — could still make the rest of the year more interesting than anyone should really expect from a team 20 games under .500. The main reason is the return of Munetaka Murakami. The two-time Central League MVP had been planning to leave NPB with a bang before heading to the majors in the offseason. Instead, Murakami has only played in seven games due to injury. Murakami returned from a long absence last week and homered in his first at-bat and connected on a second a couple days later. He was 4-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs against the Tigers on Sunday. An optimistic Swallows fan might point to Murakami's explosive potential and hope that he not only performs at a high level, but helps kick-start a moribund lineup into gear. Murakami, of course, has that ability. The pessimistic view, however, is that Murakami has not been the same batter he was during his outstanding three-year run from 2020 to 2022, with his walks and average falling, and his strikeouts soaring. He did, however, clear 30 homers in 2023 and 2024, and power is something the Swallows have been lacking. Murakami and the Swallows should be highly motivated to see the slugger perform at his absolute best to enhance the team's performance and, perhaps more importantly at this point, boost the return they'll each get if he hits the posting system this winter. Slick-fielding infielder Hideki Nagaoka also returned last week after a nearly three-month absence and could help if he hits the way he did last season. So far, Jose Osuna has carried most of the load, batting .262 with seven homers and 43 RBIs as the only player with at least 300 at-bats. Adding Murakami can only help a lineup in sore need of production — especially with Domingo Santana out due to injury. Who is to say what happens if the Swallows suddenly start putting a few more runs on the board with a little more consistency? They still won't sniff the pennant, but they won't be boring, either. Koyo Aoyagi signed with the Swallows late last month. | JIJI It would, of course, help to prevent a few more runs. That's where the club hopes taking a flyer on pitcher Koyo Aoyagi pays off. Aoyagi spent nine seasons with the Tigers before signing a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies in the offseason. Aoyagi never made an appearance at the MLB level and struggled in the minors — he posted a 7.22 ERA in 23 games, mostly out of the bullpen, in Double-A and Triple-A — before returning to Japan with the Swallows in late July. 'The culture is really different from Japan, and the baseball is also different,' Aoyagi said during his introductory news conference on Thursday, according to Nikkan Sports. 'I was not able to have good results, but it was a good experience.' Aoyagi has a solid track record in NPB with a 3.08 ERA in 898⅓ innings. He did not, however, feature a lot for the Tigers in 2024 and posted a 4.57 ERA in 100⅓ innings in 2023. Aoyagi, though, is still 31, and perhaps moving back to a more familiar setting in NPB and throwing a more familiar baseball — albeit with his home games at Yakult's bandbox — will do him some good. He, at least, sounds ready for the challenge. 'The No. 1 thing is they needed me the most,' he said when asked why he joined the Swallows. The Swallows have not been a good team, and not even the 2022 version of 'Murakami-sama,' the one who hit .318 with 56 homers, will rocket them into title contention. It will, however, be interesting to see how Murakami finishes the season and what kind of impact Aoyagi, who threw a bullpen on Sunday, can have alongside Peter Lambert and Kojiro Yoshimura. The Swallows are 8½ games behind the third-place DeNA BayStars for the final spot in the Central League Climax Series and staring down the barrel of six road games against the Yomiuri Giants and the Tigers this week. The postseason is a long shot, but it's a goal the team can still rally around for now. Barring that, Yakult can still strive to climb out of last place. At the very least, perhaps a final flourish from Murakami can help the team end the year on a positive note, generate revenue, inspire the younger players and get the heart rates back up at Jingu Stadium going into 2026.
NHK
10 hours ago
- NHK
Japanese golfer Yamashita Miyu wins Women's British Open
Japanese golfer Yamashita Miyu has captured her first major overseas title, winning the Women's British Open by finishing 11-under par. The 24-year-old started the final day on Sunday as sole leader with a one-stroke lead. She built early momentum with a birdie on the par-4 fourth, followed by back-to-back birdies on the eighth and ninth holes. But the back nine tested her composure as her rivals closed in. She landed in a bunker off the tee on the par-5 13th, but sank a long par putt to stay ahead. In the 17th, Yamashita got her first bogey of the day, but held on to win the tournament by two shots over compatriot Katsu Minami. Yamashita began competing fully in the US tour this season. She is the sixth Japanese woman to win a major overseas tournament, and the first since April when Saigo Mao took the first major of the year in the US. In 2019, Japan's Shibuno Hinako won the Women's British Open. This year, three Japanese women finished in the top 10 at the British Open, with Yamashita and Katsu followed by Takeda Rio in fourth place.
Japan Times
14 hours ago
- Japan Times
Son Heung-min bids farewell to Tottenham on emotional night in South Korea
Departing Tottenham captain Son Heung-min was in tears, and his teammates threw him in the air on an emotional evening in his native South Korea on Sunday. Spurs drew 1-1 with Newcastle in a preseason friendly in Seoul, but that was secondary to the farewell for the 33-year-old attacker. There was also the sight of James Maddison being stretchered off with what manager Thomas Frank said "was most likely a bad injury" to his knee.
