High-scoring offenses were the trademark on Wednesday in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league, as four teams scored at least eight runs.
Here are the most notable moments from Wednesday’s games.
Yomiuri’s Dominant Ninth Inning
The Yomiuri Giants picked up an important 9-2 win over the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, with all nine runs scored in the top of the ninth inning.
Entering Wednesday’s contest, the Giants were leading the Carp by only two games in the Central League pennant. A loss, which looked increasingly likely as the game went on, would’ve put Hiroshima only one game behind Yomiuri.
Between Carp starting pitcher Makoto Aduwa and reliever Taylor Hearn, Hiroshima had shut out Yomiuri through eight innings, allowing only three hits.
Then, closer, Ryoji Kuribayashi took the mount.
Kuribayashi was taken out of the game after walking three batters, allowing two hits, and recording a whopping six earned runs before the Giants registered a single out. Daisuke Moriura gave up the remaining three runs right after Kuribayashi before the Carp finally managed to earn three outs.
Seibu Ties Franchise Loss Record
The Saitama Seibu Lions lost their 84th game of the season in a 3-2 defeat to the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, tying their franchise record.
It has been an abysmal year at the plate for the Lions, as they are last in the NPB in many statistical categories, such as batting average (.208), hits (833), and RBIs (278).
There is still about a month left in the regular season, meaning Seibu will likely have set their franchise record for losses by a large margin.
Lotte Destroys Orix
The Chiba Lotte Marines defeated the Orix Buffaloes 12-3 on Wednesday following a perfect batting performance from third baseman Shogo Nakamura.
Nakamura went 4-4 with a home run and four RBIs against the Buffaloes, as four other Marines batted .500 or better in the victory. Three players, including former MLB player Gregory Polanco, hit a home run.
Lotte’s 12-run outing was its second-highest scoring performance of the season, only trailing to the Marines 18-5 victory over the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on July 10.
NPB Standings as of Wednesday, September 11
Central League
Pacific League
Watch the NPB all season long on DAZN.
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WBN NPB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/japan/
Photo Credit: Hayato Sakamoto #6 of the Yomiuri Giants rounds the bases after hitting a home run during an exhibition game against the Seattle Mariners for the 2019 Opening Series at the Tokyo Dome on Sunday, March 17, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB via Getty Images)
