Walk-offs and Dynamite Hits: Chiba Lotte's Wild Week

Interleague 2025: Week 2 Recap

The second week of interleague play began on June 10th. Can the Marines stop their three game losing streak? Would the Central League continue to stay on top? Let’s find out.

6/10 vs. Hiroshima Toyo Carp: Marines win 6-1

The Carp were 2nd in the Central League in 2023 but fell 4th in 2024. Hiroshima has the longest Japan Series drought, last winning in the year that Gremlins and Ghostbusters released*.

*Both movies were released on June 8th, 1984. Gremlins was my favorite movie when I was a kid; I owe a lot of nightmares to it.

Gizmo goods are a common sight in Japan. I have no idea why.

The Carp were coming off a 3-game sweep of the Saitama Seibu Lions. Notable players include catcher Shogo Sakakura and former Cincinnati Red Shogo Akiyama.

Lotte jumped out to an early lead in the second inning before breaking the game open in the sixth. Timely hits by Hisanori Yasuda, Toshiya Sato, and Atsuki Tomosugi* brought in four more runs to give the Marines a 6-0 lead. Sato went 2-4 in the game, getting his first hits since May 3rd against SoftBank.

*Tomosugi’s walk-up song is One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful.” I always sing “you don’t know you’re Tomosugi” to which Kana exasperatedly replies “he knows!”

I don’t think he knows.

The big story was the Marines' starting pitcher Bryan Sammons. He previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers and joined Lotte over the offseason. Making his fourth start since joining the team, Sammons took a no-hitter into the eighth inning. He was removed after allowing a leadoff double and walking a batter, and a run would eventually score off reliever Fumiya Ono. Lotte held on for the win, and Sammons picked up his second victory in NPB.

6/11 vs. Hiroshima: Carp win 6-2 in 12 innings

This game went into extra innings and took almost 5 hours to complete. Games that are still tied after 12 innings of play end in a draw.

Lotte tied the game in the bottom of the seventh on a passed ball and it remained that way until the Carp broke the game open in the top of the twelfth, scoring four runs off of veteran pitcher Yuki Karakawa. After the game, it was announced that starting pitcher Yuji Nishino had injured his right forearm and was removed from the roster.

6/12 vs Hiroshima: Marines win 5-4

Atsuki Taneichi labored through six innings, giving up 4 runs on 6 hits and 5 walks with 3 strikeouts on 108 pitches. Lotte’s offense came from a solo home run by Raito Ikeda, a two-run shot off the bat of Neftali Soto, and an otherworldly slide by Kyota Fujiwara utilizing God’s left hand.

After the game, Fujiwara said he got a little carried away and ignored the third base coach’s instructions to stop. He likely got chewed out by the coaches afterward, but it gave the team a win.

6/13 vs Tokyo Yakult Swallows: Marines win 5-4

The Swallows are known for their iconic home stadium, Meiji Jingu. It opened in 1926, is a favorite of author Haruki Murakami, and Babe Ruth even played there. They last won the Japan Series in 2021 but are currently in 6th place, last in the Central League and NPB overall. Yakult’s most notable player is Munetaka Murakami, who was the youngest Triple Crown winner in history when he pulled off the feat at the age of 22 in 2022. His numbers have taken a bit of a dip since then, and he’s only appeared in one game this season due to injury, but he will be the next major Japanese baseball star to make the jump to the majors when he is posted this offseason.

In one of the cooler events that Lotte does, the usual outfield cheering section was replaced by the brass band from local Narashino High School. You can see a bit of the band in the video below of teenage phenom, Ryusei Terachi, hitting a home run to tie the game.

Lotte won in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the ninth by scoring on a wild pitch. A fitting ending for a showdown between two last place teams.

6/14 vs Yakult: Swallows win 5-0

Staff ace Kazuya Ojima continued to struggle, giving up 4 runs in 5 innings. Yakult held Lotte to a mere two hits and cruised to an easy victory.

6/15 vs Yakult: Marines win 5-4

It’s Father’s Day. Austin Voth was on the mound for the Marines; he’s been the Marines’ best starter so far. The former National, Oriole, and Mariner got off to a rough start, giving up a two-run home run to Yakult’s Soma Uchiyama. The Marines tied the game off a mammoth home run by Daito Yamamoto in the fourth. Two innings later, Yamamoto did it again, giving Lotte a 4-2 lead. His nickname isn’t Dynamite for nothing.

Yakult tied the game the very next inning, knocking Voth out of the game. In the bottom of the ninth, pinch runner Akito Takabe moved from first to third base on a bunt thanks to some heads up baserunning. The Swallows forgot to cover third and soon after, pinch hitter and my favorite player Katsuya Kakunaka hit a walk-off sacrifice fly.

Being Father’s Day (yes, even in Japan), Yamamoto told his dad before the game that he'd hit a home run. During the postgame interview, he looked directly into the camera and proudly shouted "I hit it, Dad!"

How can you not be romantic about baseball?

Overall Results

The Marines played well, finishing the week with a 4-2 record. Still, they remain dead last in the Pacific League at 23-36. Lotte is on the road this week, heading to the famous Koshien Stadium to take on the Hanshin Tigers and then to Yokohama to take on the DeNA BayStars. I’ll be at Yokohama Stadium for the first time to see the game on the 21st.

The Central League struggled during the second week of interleague play, as the Pacific League took the lead with a 41-29 overall record. The Softbank Hawks, with a record of 8-3-1, are currently on top of the interleague standings. What does Week 3 have in store?