NEWSWORTHY
Swallows' hot-hitting lineup firing on all cylinders
Anyone who watched the Tokyo Yakult Swallows play this past week probably still has the Tokyo Ondo stuck in their head. When they close their eyes, they might still see a sea of small, mostly green umbrellas bobbing up and down in rhythm to ...
Swallows beat Giants in slugfest
The Yomiuri Giants provided the fireworks in the opener and the Tokyo Yakult Swallows lit up the scoreboard in second game. In the finale of the year's first three-game set between the crosstown rivals, they traded blows until only one was left standing. That turned out ...
Giants hitters give ace Tomoyuki Sugano a big boost in series-opening win over Swallows
Tomoyuki Sugano said his pitching was just "so-so." The Tokyo Yakult Swallows and their red-hot lineup might beg to differ. The Yomiuri Giants ace held the Swallows in check for the better part of seven innings, his teammates reminded everyone they're pretty good at the plate, ...
Swallows reliever Ryota Igarashi combats stiffness with stretching
The art of pitching past one's prime is being flexible — even when one's body isn't, Tokyo Yakult Swallows right-hander Ryota Igarashi said Sunday. Igarashi, who will turn 40 next month, is tied for third-oldest pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball after the Yomiuri Giants' Koji ...
Central League clubs enter 2019 hoping to dethrone Carp
The following is the last of a two-part NPB preview ending with the 2019 Central League. In order of predicted finish: Yomiuri Giants Manager: Tatsunori Hara 2018 record: 67-71-5 (3rd) Yomiuri skipper Tatsunori Hara, back for a third stint with the team, has a roster with plenty of big ...
Swallows bring veteran reliever Ryota Igarashi back into fold
The Tokyo Yakult Swallows said Wednesday the Central League club will acquire former major league reliever Ryota Igarashi, who was released by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks last month. Akimitsu Ito, the Swallows' head of player personnel, said the 2018 Central League runner-up hopes the 39-year-old ...
The Tokyo Yakult Swallows have reached an agreement to acquire former major league pitcher Albert Suarez, the Central League club said Wednesday. The 29-year-old Suarez played Triple-A ball for the Reno Aces, the Arizona Diamondbacks' affiliate, this past season. He went 0-1 with a 4.97 ...
The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and Tokyo Yakult Swallows have agreed to a four-player deal, the two NPB teams announced Tuesday. The Fighters, in need of relief pitchers, sent right-hander Hirotoshi Takanashi and infielder Kengo Ota in exchange for right-hander Ryo Akiyoshi and infielder Ryota ...
Giants riding wave of momentum into final stage showdown against Carp
Tomoyuki Sugano turned, slapped his glove and thrust both arms into air once the ball was safely secure in Daikan Yoh's glove in center field. He wore a broad smile as catcher Seiji Kobayashi enveloped him in a hug near the mound at Jingu ...
Giants seize opportunities in Game 1 triumph over Swallows
Without hesitation, the Swallows sent their Giants killer to the mound for Saturday's postseason series opener, but it did not work out the way they had hoped. Instead, the Giants who came through, scoring key late runs and relying on solid pitching in their 4-1 ...
The race to the Japan Series begins Saturday as the Central and Pacific League Climax Series' first stages get underway in Tokyo and Fukuoka. Each league's second-place team will host their third-place league rival in the three-game first stages. Each first-stage winner will advance to ...
Swallows starter Matt Carasiti, bullpen hold BayStars in check
Matt Carasiti tossed four solid innings on Wednesday and the Tokyo Yakult Swallows' bullpen maintained an early lead for a 2-1 victory over the Yokohama BayStars. Despite outhitting the Swallows, the BayStars were unable to take advantage of several chances at Jingu Stadium and suffered ...
