Fierce battles every day! The Central League is evenly matched, while the Pacific League is showing its differences [Featured games]

All three games between Chunichi and Hiroshima were close and intense.

4/8

DeNA 3 - 3 Giants
Chunichi 1 - 1 Hiroshima
Hanshin 0 - 1 Yakult
Katsuki Takahashi (1 win, 1 loss) vs. Yasuyuki Ishiyama (0 wins, 0 losses, 2 wins)
Loser: Hiroto Saiki (0 wins, 2 losses)

4/9

DeNA 3 - 6 Giants
Winner: Iori Yamazaki (2 wins, 0 losses) Save: Martinez (1 win, 0 losses, 4 saves)
Loser: Shinichi Onuki (0 wins, 1 loss)
Chunichi 3 - 1 Hiroshima
Winner: Masayoshi Katsuno (1 win, 0 losses) Save: Shinya Matsuyama (0 wins, 0 losses, 4 saves)
Loser: Hahn (0 wins, 1 loss)
Hanshin 3 - 5 Yakult
Striker Ishikawa Masaki (1 win, 0 losses) vs. Striker Ishiyama (0 wins, 0 losses, 3 S)
Loser: Yasunari Kudo (0 wins, 1 loss)

4/10

Chunichi 1 - 2 Hiroshima
Katsuyuki Kuribayashi (1 win, 0 losses) vs. Atsuya Kunie (0 wins, 1 loss, 1 S)
Loser: Kento Fujishima (0 wins, 1 loss)
Hanshin's game was called off due to rain. Yakult's game was called off.

This time, we're highlighting the matchup between the Chunichi Dragons and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Both teams are hoping to win both games and pull ahead in the chaotic Central League. The starting pitchers for the first game were Mara for Chunichi and Dominguez for Hiroshima. Both teams had newly acquired foreign pitchers on the mound. The game remained 0-0 until the third inning. Chunichi took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, loading the bases with one out after three walks, and scoring the first run on a ground ball to shortstop by Seiya Hosokawa. Hiroshima fought back in the seventh inning, advancing a runner to third base with a hit and a sacrifice bunt, and then tying the game with a hit to the pitcher by Shota Suekane. After that, both teams made frequent pitching changes, sending the game into extra innings. In the bottom of the twelfth inning, with two outs and runners on first and second base, pinch hitter Seiji Uebayashi struck out swinging, ending the tense game in a draw.

In the second game, Yuya Yanagi started for Chunichi and Daichi Osera for Hiroshima. The game changed in the bottom of the second inning when Hosokawa, batting fifth, hit a double to create a scoring opportunity, and Kaito Muramatsu, batting seventh, hit a timely single to center field, giving Chunichi the lead, just like the previous day. After that, both pitchers made a series of outs, and Chunichi maintained their lead until the seventh inning. In the top of the eighth inning, Yanagi was replaced by Katsuno. Katsuno walked the leadoff batter, Masaya Yano, and then gave up a double down the left field line to Kaito Kozono, putting runners on second and third with no outs. The next batter, Suematsu, hit a weak ground ball to first base. While the first baseman was making the out, the runner from third scored, tying the game and costing Yanagi, who had pitched a strong 117 pitches over seven innings, the win. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Chunichi lineup attacked Hiroshima's third pitcher, Hahn. Takuya Kinoshita and Calliste got hits and a walk, creating a scoring opportunity with runners on second and third with two outs. Pinch hitter Kenta Bright hit a double that hit the right-center field fence, giving his team the lead. In the 9th inning, closer Matsuyama faced a jam with runners on first and third with one out, but managed to get out of the jam for his fourth save, securing the victory for Chunichi.

Game 3 began with a tense pitching duel. Chunichi's Yudai Ohno and Hiroshima's Shogo Tamamura kept runners on base but prevented them from reaching third base, advancing to the fifth inning. Chunichi took the lead again, with two outs and runners on first and third when number 8, Yuta Ishii, hit a timely single to left field, scoring the first run. In the top of the seventh inning, Tatsuya Shimizu took the mound as the second pitcher, but gave up two hits, putting runners on first and third with one out. He then gave up a run on a ground ball to third base by Ryosuke Kikuchi, tying the game for the third consecutive game. In the top of the eleventh inning of extra innings, Chunichi's sixth pitcher, Fujishima, ran into trouble. He gave up a hit to leadoff batter Takaki Ishihara, who advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, and then gave up a double to right field to pinch hitter Takayoshi Noma, giving Chunichi the lead and resulting in a loss for Fujishima, bringing the series record to 1 win, 1 loss, and 1 draw.

Rakuten, who won their last round, and Nippon Ham, who suffered their third straight loss, will both showcase their competitive spirit and make their presence felt.

4/8

Rakuten 2 - 5 Nippon Ham
Defeated Ito Hiroshi (1 win, 1 loss)
If you lose, you'll be in big trouble (1 win, 1 loss, 2 S).
Seibu 3 - 7 Lotte
Katsu: Atsuki Taneichi (1 win, 0 losses)
Loser: Shunsuke Sato (0 wins, 1 loss)
Orix 2 - 5 Softbank
Winner: Moinelo (2 wins, 0 losses) Save: Osuna (0 wins, 0 losses, 1 save)
Defeated by Mulan (0 wins, 1 loss)

4/9

Rakuten 2 - 8 Nippon Ham
Winner: Takayuki Kato (1 win, 0 losses)
Loser: Wataru Karashima (0 wins, 2 losses)
Seibu 2 - 0 Lotte
Winner: Shinya Sugai (1 win, 0 losses) Save: Kaima Taira (0 wins, 0 losses, 1 save)
Defeated Nishino Braves (0 wins, 1 loss)
Orix 9 - 10 SoftBank
Katsu Tsumori Yuki (1 win, 0 losses)
Defeated Hirano Yoshitoshi (0 wins, 1 loss)

4/10

Rakuten 0 - 10 Nippon Ham
Katsuki Kitayama (2 wins, 0 losses)
Defeated by Takayuki Kishi (1 win, 1 loss)
Orix 1 - 1 Softbank

In the first game, Rakuten's starting pitcher was Fujii Sei, and Nippon Ham's was Ito. This was Fujii's first start of the year. Rakuten took the lead in the bottom of the second inning when Kogo Yuya hit a single to right field. On the second pitch to the next batter, Asamura Hideto, hit a curveball that was thrown too high down the middle for a two-run home run to left-center field. Nippon Ham fought back in the top of the fourth inning when Nomura Yuki drew a walk, and Manami Nakamasa, batting sixth that day, skillfully scooped up a curveball that was thrown too high and hit his second home run of the season, a two-run homer to left field, tying the game. The game was decided in the top of the ninth inning when the Nippon Ham lineup attacked Rakuten's closer Norimoto Takahiro. With two outs and runners on first and second base, Kiyomiya Kotaro, batting second, hit an outside pitch to left-center field for a timely two-run double, scoring two runs. After that, Reyes also got a timely hit, and the Nippon Ham Fighters won the first game 5-3. Starting pitcher Ito pitched a complete game to earn his first win of the season.

Game 2 began with Rakuten's Karashima on the mound and Nippon Ham's Kato on the pitching staff. In the top of the second inning, the fifth batter, Manami, hit a ball near the middle of the plate for a solo home run, his second in as many games. However, Rakuten created a bases-loaded opportunity in the bottom of the inning and quickly tied the game with a sacrifice fly to center field by Ota Hikaru. The game changed again in the top of the fifth inning when Nippon Ham was at bat. Hits by Yoshida Kengo and Gunji Yuya, and timely hits by Reyes and Kiyomiya gave them 3 runs and the lead. In the seventh inning, timely hits by Mizuno Tatsuki and Reyes' second timely hit of the day added 4 more runs for Nippon Ham, who held Rakuten to just one run and won 8-2, securing their second consecutive victory.

Game 3 unfolded in a one-sided manner. The game began with Rakuten's Kishi and Nippon Ham's Kitayama as starting pitchers, but runs were scored from the first inning. With one out and runners on first and third, Nomura and Tamiya Yuya hit consecutive RBI singles to score two runs. In the second inning, Reyes hit an RBI single with the bases loaded to add another run. In the third inning, Mizuno hit his first home run of the season, a three-run homer, and in the fourth inning, Manami hit a two-run RBI single, giving Nippon Ham a large 8-run lead early in the game and allowing them to control the game. Nippon Ham added more runs in the seventh and eighth innings, racking up 16 hits and 10 runs, and their pitching staff, using four relievers in relief, held the Rakuten lineup to just three hits and no runs, securing a perfect victory. Nippon Ham has won three straight away games and will they be able to maintain this momentum? The exciting games continue.

*The information in this article is current as of the time of publication.