Baseball / Japanese Baseball | The week in NPB Aug 31, 2020
Giants and Hawks in driver's seat at halfway mark in NPB
by Jason Coskrey
Despite the shortened schedule, there's still plenty to look forward to in the 2020 campaign.
Baseball / Japanese Baseball Sep 23, 2019
Ernesto Mejia once more had the last word against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on Monday, his three-run double lifting Seibu to a 5-3 win that lowered the Lions' magic number to clinch the Pacific League title to two. The Lions, looking to win back-to-back ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball Apr 6, 2019
Tomoya Mori leads Lions' hit parade with 4-for-5 performance against Fighters
by Jason Coskrey
Opener, closer, middleman, it's all the same to the Seibu Lions' lineup. When the Lions' bats are roaring, it doesn't matter who is on the mound or when they get there, they're going to get hit. Hard. Shogo Akiyama and Tomoya Mori keyed the five-run third ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball May 19, 2018
Lions' Shinsaburo Tawata rebounds from loss with six-hit shutout against Buffaloes
Shinsaburo Tawata bounced back from his worst start of the season with a six-hit shutout as the Pacific League-leading Seibu Lions beat the Orix Buffaloes 7-0 on Saturday. Coming off his first loss of the season, Tawata (7-1) struck out five and walked one but ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball Sep 20, 2016
Mejia, Asamura spark Lions in runaway victory over Buffaloes
Ernesto Mejia and Hideto Asamura both hit three-run home runs to power the Seibu Lions 11-1 over the Orix Buffaloes on Tuesday. Mejia opened the scoring in the first inning with his 35th homer of the season before his teammate Hotaka Yamakawa struck a solo ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball Sep 6, 2016
First baseman Ernesto Mejia appears to have found a long-term home in Japan following Tuesday's announcement that he has agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Seibu Lions. The deal with the Pacific League club is believed to be worth more than ¥1.5 billion ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball | NPB NOTEBOOK Sep 4, 2016
Laird closing in on 40-homer year
by Jason Coskrey
Brandon Laird has become a favorite among Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters fans for his home run celebration, not to mention the homers themselves, which sees him mimic a chef making sushi. There was a lot to celebrate on Saturday night, when he hit three home ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball Aug 18, 2016
First-place Hawks left with only slim lead after loss against Lions
Ernesto Mejia and Hideto Asamura both went deep as the Seibu Lions defeated the stuttering Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 6-3 on Thursday, trimming the Pacific League leaders' advantage to nearly nothing. The Hawks, two-time reigning Japan-Series champions, held an 11-½ game lead over the then third-place ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball Jul 16, 2016
Fellow All-Stars rave about Otani's special talents
by Jason Coskrey
A blister kept Shohei Otani from pitching in the NPB All-Star Series. So the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' two-way star took part in the festivities as a hitter instead. Otani put on a show at the plate over the weekend. He participated in home run ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball Jun 30, 2016
Mejia, Balentien, Eldred receive players' vote to appear in All-Star Series
Nippon Professional Baseball's players have spoken, and they want to see power at this year's All-Star Series. Three foreign sluggers, who were not selected to the Central and Pacific leagues' All-Star teams by the fans, were added through the players' vote, NPB announced Thursday. The ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball | HIT AND RUN May 23, 2016
Preseason effort bearing fruit for Lions slugger Mejia
by Jason Coskrey
The road Ernesto Mejia took to his brilliant start to the season didn't begin on opening day, or even on the first day of spring camp. It started during a few restless days he spent in Japan while waiting to fly home after the ...
Baseball / Japanese Baseball | NPB NOTEBOOK May 17, 2016
Too early to worry about Otani's season, says Darvish
by Jason Coskrey
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters ace Shohei Otani has just one win and a 3.34 ERA after eight starts, but former Fighters ace Yu Darvish says it's too early to worry about the 21-year-old right-hander. Darvish, now a star pitcher for the Texas Rangers, recently took ...