June Baseball Brings Rain, Heartbreak, and Hope to Chiba

Interleague 2025: Week 1 Recap

June in Japan means two things: rainy season and interleague play. Rainy season is called tsuyu (梅雨) in Japanese and it is dreadful. Not only are trains frequently delayed and more crowded, but umbrellas take up much more space on the sidewalks, and the humidity is unbelievably uncomfortable. At least we have baseball to see us through it.

Unlike the American and National leagues that make up MLB, the Central and Pacific leagues of NPB are entirely separate. Pitchers still bat in the Central, while the Pacific uses the designated hitter. Teams from opposing leagues only play each other during the limited window of interleague play. This year, interleague play runs from June 3rd to June 22nd.

Interleague play began in 2005. The Pacific League has won more games against the Central League every year except three - 2009, 2021, and 2022. A Pacific League team has had the best record 14 times while a Central League team has only had it 5 times.

For the fans, finishing with the best record in interleague play means you get bragging rights. If your league ends up with the most wins overall, you get to tout the superiority of your league's style of play and the quality of its players.

For the teams and players, it means something a little different. The team with the highest winning percentage will be awarded the title of "Interleague Championship Winner" and receive a prize of 30 million yen from Nippon Life Insurance Company. The best player out of all 12 teams, selected for outstanding performance, will receive the "Nippon Life MVP Award" and a prize of 2 million yen. One player from each league (Central and Pacific) will be selected as the "Nippon Life Excellent Player Award" and will receive a prize of 1 million yen.

The day before interleague play began, the Marines shuffled up their coaching staff under manager Masato Yoshii, a former big leaguer*. The biggest change was promoting second-team manager and former star player Saburo to head coach. Yes, he goes by one name much like the legendary Ichiro. Saburo said he wanted to create a lineup that didn't rely on foreign players and that gives young players a chance to shine. Will Yoshii listen to Saburo? Will Saburo's idea of lineup construction and roster management make any difference? Let's find out.

*Yoshii played from 1998-2002 with the Mets, Rockies, and Expos. In 162 games, he went 32-47 with a 4.62 ERA, good for a 101 ERA+.

6/3 vs. Yomiuri Giants: Postponed

First up for the Marines, the Yomiuri Giants came to town for the first set of games. The Giants won the pennant in 2024 but were knocked out of the playoffs by the eventual champion DeNA BayStars. ZOZO Marine Stadium is less than an hour by car from the Tokyo Dome so they didn’t have to travel far. Unfortunately, it's June in Japan so it got rained out. Probably for the best. Getting rained out is better than getting shut out.

Sadly, it was also the day that legendary ballplayer and former Giant, Shigeo Nagashima, passed away. He was nicknamed “Mr. Giants” and is one of the most iconic and beloved players in Japanese baseball history. In his retirement speech in 1974, he declared “our Giants will live forever.” I plan to write about him after this season is over.

6/4 vs. Yomiuri: Marines win 5-3

Things got off to a good start for the new look Marines. Shuta Ishikawa, signed as a free agent from the Softbank Hawks to replace Roki Sasaki, finally earned his first win with Lotte, allowing just three hits and no runs over seven innings.

In the bottom of the 2nd inning, Lotte took an early 3-0 lead with a solo home run by Daito “Dynamite” Yamamoto and team captain Yudai Fujioka. Hiromi Oka, who is delightfully nicknamed Okapi, and Fujioka provided further insurance by getting back-to-back RBI hits in the third.

Those insurance runs proved necessary as the Giants closed the gap by scoring three runs in the 8th inning after Akira Yagi gave up two hits and a walk without recording a single out. He was replaced by Shunsuke Nakamori who allowed the inherited runners to score.

6/5 vs Yomiuri: Marines win 2-1

26 year old Atsuki Taneichi started this one for Lotte. He’s been the Marines best pitcher over the last couple of seasons not named Roki Sasaki but he’s also had some injury trouble. He’d already been removed from the roster twice this season after struggling but today he pitched a gem. He gave up only 1 run over 8 innings while striking out 8 but wound up with a no-decision after leaving while the game was tied.

The game would enter extras, and the Marines would win in dramatic walk-off fashion Akito Takabe was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Not the prettiest of victories but a win is a win.

6/6 vs Chunichi Dragons: Dragons win 3-2

The Marines head to Nagoya to take on the Chunichi Dragons. The Dragons have finished at the bottom of the Central League the previous three seasons and haven’t made the playoffs since 2012. Their mascot is a Koala and their home uniforms resemble those of the Dodgers.

Chunichi jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning off of ace Kazuya Ojima. Lotte managed to tie the game with runs in the third and sixth. The Dragons came right back in the bottom of the sixth inning to take the lead off of Koshiro Sakamoto, the winning pitcher from the night before.

6/7 vs Chunichi: Dragons win 4-3

This was a heartbreaker for the Marines as they lost in dramatic fashion. Haruya Tanaka was on the mound for Lotte, one day after his 21st birthday. He gave up 1 run over 7 innings, struck out 9, and drove in two runs with his first professional hit in the fifth inning.

Lotte led 3-1 heading into the ninth when they brought in Shota Suzuki to close it out. Suzuki quickly recorded two outs before giving up a hit, hitting a batter with a pitch, allowing a run-scoring single, a walk to load the bases, a single to tie the game, and finally walking in the winning run. Suzuki looked like he’d rather be anywhere but on the mound.

6/8 vs Chunichi: Dragons win 3-0

The game remained scoreless until the seventh when Sakamoto, pitching his third game in a row, gave up a run on a sacrifice fly by Chunichi’s Mikiya Tanaka, who had been the winning run the previous game. The Dragons added two more runs in the eighth, the Marines wasted multiple chances, and that was the game.

Interleague play started off promising but the Marines finished the week with a disappointing 2-3 record. This week, the Hiroshima Toyo Carp and the Yakult Swallows come to town. As I write this, the Marines currently hold a 6-0 lead over the Carp.

Overall Results

After the first week, the Central League is on top with a 21-14 record. The Hanshin Tigers have the best overall record at 5-1.

Will Hanshin continue to dominate? Will the Central League continue to win games? Let’s see what this week holds.