Nippon Professional Baseball said Sunday it will postpone five Central League games until after the May 11 end of the current coronavirus state of emergency in order to allow the home teams to admit fans.
NPB on Saturday said four ballparks in Tokyo as well as Osaka and Hyogo prefectures will be closed to fans starting from Tuesday. A total of 27 Central and Pacific league games were scheduled to be played in those parks between Sunday — when the state of emergency went into effect — and May 11. Sunday’s three games, however went ahead with fans in attendance due to the short notice following Friday’s emergency declaration.
The Yakult Swallows’ home game with the Hiroshima Carp at Tokyo’s Jingu Stadium has been moved from May 11 to May 13, while the Yomiuri Giants have moved next Sunday’s game against the Chunichi Dragons at Tokyo Dome to July 8.
Yakult’s home games against Yomiuri on Thursday and the Hanshin Tigers on May 3, and the May 8 Giants-Swallows game at Tokyo Dome have been postponed with the makeup dates yet to be announced.
In addition to Tokyo Dome and Jingu, the current state of emergency affects games at Hyogo Prefecture’s Koshien Stadium, the Tigers’ home park, and Osaka’s Kyocera Dome, the home of the PL’s Orix Buffaloes.
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