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The Mainichi
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Fujioka, Ishikawa lift Marines to victory over Giants
CHIBA (Kyodo) -- Yudai Fujioka homered and drove in three runs to back a scoreless outing by Shuta Ishikawa as the Lotte Marines beat the Yomiuri Giants 5-3 on Wednesday. A moment of silence was observed prior to the game at Zozo Marine Stadium, following Tuesday's death of former Giants star third baseman and manager Shigeo Nagashima at the age of 89. Fujioka hit a two-run homer in the second inning and an RBI single in the third to help Lotte build a 5-0 lead through three innings. Yomiuri got three runs back in the eighth but the rally ended there. Ishikawa (1-2) scattered three hits, three walks and a hit batter over seven innings. Haruto Inoue (3-5) took the loss. Among the day's other games, the Nippon Ham Fighters edged the Hanshin Tigers 5-4 in a matchup between the Pacific League and Central League first-place teams, respectively. Jun Maeda (2-1) struck out 10 and allowed just two hits in eight scoreless innings in the SoftBank Hawks' 8-2 rout of the Chunichi Dragons.
Japan Times
03-06-2025
- General
- Japan Times
What you need to know ahead of NPB interleague play resuming
This week's slate of NPB games marks the start of the 20th edition of interleague play in Japan. Japanese baseball introduced interleague competition in 2005, giving fans a chance to see Central and Pacific League teams compete outside of the annual Japan Series matchup. It happens during a set period each year — June 3 to 22 this season — and the team with the best record is crowned champion at the end. While the format has gone through a few iterations since 2005 (and was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) the one constant has been Pa League dominance.
Japan Times
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Japan Times
Fighters already showing last season's playoff run was no fluke
Tsuyoshi Shinjo showed up for his first news conference as Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters manager in November 2021 wearing sunglasses, a gaudy red suit and a white shirt with an impossibly large popped collar. He said he wanted to be called 'Big Boss' instead of 'manager,' a stance he later doubled down on by changing his registered name in NPB to 'BIGBOSS,' which he wore on his uniform. That was the beginning of a yearlong spectacle. After arriving on a hovercraft before the team's home opener in 2022, Shinjo remained the center of attention for most of the season. He preened, the fans fawned and the cameras rolled. If his goal was to take the spotlight and pressure off his mostly young players, then it worked. Shinjo was the star, and it almost did not matter that the team finished in last place. But Shinjo gave a lot of players valuable experience, even shoving some out of their comfort zones. While the Fighters finished last again in 2023, they at least looked like they were building something. Shinjo has dialed back his antics lately, and perhaps with good reason — because it looks like the players are ready to take center stage. After making a playoff run last season, the Fighters look like a contender again early in 2025. Nippon Ham is 25-19-2 through 46 games, the best record in the Pacific League, and is tied with the Hanshin Tigers for the highest winning percentage (.588) in NPB. Even though the calendar has not reached June, over 30% of the season is in the books. So while it is still too early to talk about winning the pennant, there have been enough games played to say the Fighters look like the real deal. Shinjo did not inherit a winning club in 2022. The team had finished second from the bottom in the Pa League the previous three seasons under Hideki Kuriyama and had not won the pennant since Shohei Ohtani led it there in 2016. Shinjo had a lot of young players in Year 1. There were also questions about his lack of experience — he had never managed or coached previously — and how seriously the flamboyant personality would take the job. The Fighters, however, made incremental gains during a pair of last-place finishes, and the seeds sprouted last season are bearing fruit this year. The club's pitchers have performed very well in 2025. Haruki Hosono provided the latest example with seven innings of one-run ball against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in a 1-1 tie on Sunday afternoon. Nippon Ham leads the PL with a 2.33 team ERA, and its starters are the class of NPB so far with a 2.18 mark. The Fighters have five pitchers with at least six starts and none have an ERA over 3.00 — although three have thrown fewer than 50 innings. Ace Hiromi Ito, meanwhile, has a 2.36 ERA over 61 innings (the second-most frames in the league). The team pitched well in 2024, and its roster of arms can lead the charge again this year. The Fighters' Chusei Mannami is tied for the Pacific League lead with nine home runs. | JIJI Offensively, the club's batting average is not great (.230), but that has not stopped it from leading NPB with 44 home runs — nine more than the next-highest total — and being tied for second with 160 runs scored overall. Sixteen of the club's homers have driven in multiple runs, including Chusei Mannami's grand slam on May 10. The Fighters' fast start in the power department could bode well as the weather warms up later in the summer. The club also has a plus-32 run differential, second only to the Tigers in NPB, and ranks fourth overall with a .657 on-base plus slugging percentage. Mannami and Franmil Reyes are tied for the PL lead with nine home runs and tied for second with 25 RBIs. Reyes is also batting .264. After Kotaro Kiyomiya took a big step forward for the Fighters last season, Yuki Nomura, who has embraced the challenge of holding down the No. 4 spot in the order, might be taking a similar leap this year. He is batting .291 with six homers and leads the team with an .871 OPS. Nomura, however, is currently nursing an oblique strain. While the offense could be in trouble if the homers dry up, the Fighters are getting contributions from several players. Shinjo has also changed his approach, according to reports, leaning on his coaches and delegating more. So perhaps "Big CEO" is another reason for the Fighters' fast start. Nippon Ham has five games this week before the start of the interleague schedule, which has been a wildcard for teams in past pennant races. Understanding how playing the Central League teams can throw a wrench in a season, the Fighters have given Reyes a little work at first base to prepare for games in CL parks, where there will be no designated hitter, and are fastidiously going over their bunting strategies. The Fighters have a long way to go, but if the first half of the PL schedule is an indication, they have enough firepower to show that last season was no one-off. The Fighters played for growth and to develop players in Shinjo's first two years, and began to reap the rewards last year. Now they can play to win. In Year 4 of the Shinjo experiment, the manager may not be the most entertaining thing to watch when the pennant race finally heats up.
The Mainichi
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Baseball: Fighters beat Eagles on Gunji's homer, Kanemura's shutout
SENDAI (Kyodo) -- Yuya Gunji hit a solo home run in the top of the second and Shoma Kanemura pitched a complete-game shutout to give the Nippon Ham Fighters a 1-0 win against the Rakuten Eagles in Pacific League baseball on Friday. Kanemura (4-2) scattered five hits and a walk while striking out six in his 104-pitch outing at Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi. Leading off the second inning, starting catcher Gunji sent his first pitch from Takahisa Hayakawa, a 145 kilometer-per-hour fastball, just inside the left-field foul pole. The go-ahead blast continued a run of improved form following a nine-game hitless streak that ended with an ice-breaking RBI against the Orix Buffaloes on May 15. "Things have gotten better since that at-bat," said Gunji, whose ability to play multiple positions has made him indispensable on defense for the PL leaders. Hayakawa (1-5) struck out nine and allowed four hits and a walk over seven innings. Rakuten slugger Hideto Asamura closed to within one hit of 2,000 for his career after going 1-for-3 with a single in the second.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Get ready for playoff drama with many top pitchers in peak form
There are so many top pitchers ready to show why they are aces that the opening playoff games are going to be nerve-racking, unpredictable and sometimes lasting until sundown or even longer (there was a 19-inning playoff game in 2023 played over two days). 'We're going to see a bunch of these guys on TV one day,' Harvard-Westlake coach Jared Halpert said. 'It will be a year for the ages.' Advertisement Let me offer pitchers to watch: Angel Cervantes, Warren. With a 97-mph fastball, the UCLA commit begins action Thursday in Division 3 against host Redondo Union. He has a 16-strikeout game and a no-hitter this season along with 95 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings. 'I think I improved on commanding my pitches and being able to throw my off-speeds anywhere I want,' he said. Said coach Cesar Martinez: "He's been dominant." Seth Hernandez, Corona. He's 17-0 in two years of high school baseball with 88 strikeouts and three walks in 42 1/3 innings while throwing 98 mph this season. 'He's amazing,' Halpert said. Hernandez will pitch Tuesday against Los Osos or Cypress. Advertisement Jackson Eisenhauer, Crespi. He's 9-1 with a 0.24 ERA as the surprise standout pitcher in his senior year and probably the Mission League MVP after throwing just 11 innings last season. He has a sweeping curveball and can reach 91 mph. He and Tyler Walton are a terrific starting duo for the Division 1 playoffs. Vaughn Neckar, Vista Murrieta. The Oklahoma commit with a 95-mph fastball is 6-2 with a 0.73 ERA and should be on the mound Thursday against Harvard-Westlake sophomore pitcher Justin Kirchner, who is 8-0 with an 1.81 ERA. Gary Morse, Orange Lutheran. He's a 6-foot-8 junior committed to Tennessee who is continuing to develop at a school that produced Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole. Morse is 7-2 with a 1.08 ERA. Mike Erspamer, San Clemente. The left-handed Stanford commit dominated in the Sea View League and gets to face Westlake in a Division 2 opener. He's 6-3 with a 1.71 ERA. Advertisement Hunter Manning, West Ranch. The Long Beach State commit has a school-record 16-strikeout performance this season and is 7-0 with a 0.78 ERA. Jordan Ayala, Norco. One of the best freshmen in Southern California, Ayala went 7-3 with a 0.82 ERA in helping the Cougars win 12 of their last 13 games. Garrett Jacobs, Mira Costa. The junior right-hander is 9-1 with 91 strikeouts in 63 innings and has a 1.44 ERA for the 26-2 Mustangs. Damian Catano, Arcadia. He went 9-1 with a 1.13 ERA as a junior for the Pacific League champions and teamed with senior Gus Cooper (7-1, 1.22 ERA) to help Arcadia go 25-3. Jake Brande, Palm Desert. The 6-foot-7 Long Beach State commit throws strikes and is 8-1 with a 1.35 ERA. Advertisement Zach Strickland, Maranatha. The hard-throwing UCLA commit is 6-0 with a 0.58 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 48 innings. He opens against Anaheim Canyon in Division 2. Brandon Thomas, Mater Dei. The Fresno State commit has been facing Trinity League pitchers all season and now goes in Division 2. He has a 1.08 ERA with 12 walks in 58 1/3 innings. Dustin Dunwoody, Royal. The junior Arizona commit is 7-0 with a 1.28 ERA and has 86 strikeouts in 60 innings. Jared Grindlinger, Huntington Beach. Get ready for the unleashing of the sophomore standout who has been used strategically to save his arm for May Madness. He's 5-0 with a 0.77 ERA in 27 1/3 innings. Advertisement Ryan Oaks, Summit. Committed to Cal State Northridge, Oaks is 6-0 with a 0.88 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 56 innings. Sign up for the L.A. Times SoCal high school sports newsletter to get scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
