Japanese Baseball (NPB): SoftBank Almost No-Hits Seibu, BayStars Capitalize on Carp Collapse

As the regular season winds down in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league, most games have heavy postseason implications.

Here are the most notable moments from Wednesday’s slate of games.

SoftBank Allows One Hit

The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks shut out the Saitama Seibu Lions 2-0 on Wednesday, only allowing one hit.

Five different pitchers participated in the one-hit shutout, but it was Roberto Osuna who gave up the lone hit to Seibu’s Daiju Nomura in the ninth inning. Osuna was able to retire the rest of the Lions lineup to secure the win for the Hawks.

SoftBank’s win doesn’t really affect the Climax Series, as the Hawks are 12 games ahead of the No. 2 Nippon-Ham Fighters.

Seibu’s loss was representative of its season so far, as the Lions have already clinched the worst record in the NPB this season. 

DeNA Pads Third-Place Lead

On Wednesday, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars took down the No. 1-seeded Yomiuri Giants, 1-0. Keita Sano batted in the lone RBI.

Compiled with a suddenly-common Hiroshima Toyo Carp loss, the BayStars are 1.5 games ahead of the Carp in the playoff race. The Carp seem to have come down with a team-wide case of the yips at the worst possible time, sinking them to No. 4 in the Central League. Hiroshima was at the top of the Central League not too long ago.

There is still enough time for the Carp to knock the BayStars back out of the playoff picture, but considering the Carp haven’t won consecutive games since Sept. 1, it isn’t looking likely. 

Yuma Yasuda Holds Off Nippon-Ham

The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles picked up a much-needed 3-1 victory over the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters on Wednesday.

Designated hitter Yuma Yasuda blasted a three-run home run in the first inning after Fighters reliever Yohei Kagiya was taken out after a ceremonial start in his final game. Kagiya managed to get two outs, but the Golden Eagles recorded three consecutive hits to take an early 3-0 lead.

Rakuten held off Nippon-Ham for the rest of the game to earn the win and inch closer to a berth in the Climax Series.

NPB Standings as of Wednesday, September 25

Central League

1. Yomiuri Giants (73-58-7)
2. Hanshin Tigers (72-60-6)
3. Yokohama DeNA BayStars (67-64-3)
4. Hiroshima Toyo Carp (65-65-5)
5. Chunichi Dragons (58-72-8)
6. Tokyo Yakult Swallows (58-75-4)

Pacific League

1. Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (86-47-3)
2. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (71-56-8)
3. Chiba Lotte Marines (67-63-6)
4. Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (66-64-3)
5. Orix Buffaloes (59-75-3)
6. Saitama Seibu Lions (46-89-2)

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WBN NPB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/japan/