[NPB NOTEBOOK] Back in Top Form, Roki Sasaki Leads Marines into PL Playoffs

Roki Sasaki seems to have put his injury woes behind him. That's good news for Sasaki, his Chiba Lotte Marines and the bevy of MLB teams hoping to sign the NPB pitcher one day.

Sasaki allowed one run over the distance on Tuesday, October 1 as the Marines beat the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 5-1 at Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi to clinch the Pacific League's final playoff spot.

Looking like his old dominant self, the 22-year-old right-hander struck out 10 batters in his first complete game in two seasons to reach 10 wins for the first time in his career.

Sasaki (10-5) allowed five hits and no walks. The only run he gave up was on a wild pitch in the second inning.

"Right from the start, my feel for my pitches wasn't that bad," Sasaki said, according to Kyodo News. "I gave up the early lead, but I'm glad I could preserve our own lead after we came from behind."

Even though he got to 10 wins, it wasn't the easiest season for Sasaki. He was dropped from Lotte's active roster on June 13 due to issues related to the fitness of his throwing arm and did not pitch again until early August.

Sasaki Finishes Strong to Close Out the NPB Season

Since his start on August 30 against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, Sasaki is 4-1, including a 6-2 victory over the PL champion Hawks when he went seven scoreless innings for the win.

Tuesday's game was a closely contested pitchers' duel with 39-year-old veteran Takayuki Kishi (6-11) working his magic for the Eagles.

Kishi held the Marines scoreless until the fifth when he was the victim of some bad luck.

A two-out, two-on pop-up to shallow left deflected off the glove of shortstop Itsuki Murabayashi, allowing two runs to score.

Hiromi Oka followed with an RBI double to cap the three-run inning. The Marines tacked on two runs in the ninth off Kishi, who went 8⅓ innings.

With the win, Lotte also knocked the Eagles out of contention and set up a PL Climax Series First Stage between the Marines and Tsuyoshi Shinjo's Hokkaido Nipponham Fighters beginning on Saturday, October 12 at Es Con Field Hokkaido.

The winner goes on to face the pennant-winning Hawks, who will host the best-of-six Climax Series Final Stage to determine who advances to the Japan Series. (As the pennant winner, SoftBank receives an automatic one-win advantage to begin the series.)

Ever since he became Japanese pro baseball's youngest perfect-game pitcher in 2022, Sasaki has been on the radar of MLB teams and is widely considered to be the next pitching star from Japan who will go to the majors.

BayStars Shine

The Yokohama DeNA BayStars clinched the third and final spot in the Central League Climax Series and will take on the Hanshin Tigers.

Despite losing 4-2 to the pennant-winning Yomiuri Giants on Wednesday, October 2, Yokohama clinched third place when their closest rival, the Hiroshima Carp, lost 6-3 against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.

The best-of-three series will start at Hanshin's Koshien Stadium on Saturday, October 12.

It's been a stunning decline for the Carp, who were atop the Central League standings earlier this season. 

With a pitching staff that included Daichi Ohsera, Aren Kuri and Hiroki Tokoda and Ryoji Kuribayashi as the closer, it looked like Hiroshima was a lock to make the playoffs at least.

But the Carp had a miserable September, going 6-19 to fall back in the standings and then out with the loss to the Swallows.

Yokohama, meanwhile, recovered from a slow start and got big contributions from infielders Tyler Austin, Shugo Maki and Toshiro Miyazaki at the plate.

First baseman Austin has had an MVP-type season batting .309 with 25 homers and 69 RBIs through Thursday, October 3.

Azuma, Jackson Lead DeNA's Starting Rotation

On the pitching side, Katsuki Azuma has led the way with a 13-4 record, a 2.16 ERA and 140 strikeouts. 

After Trevor Bauer departed in the off-season, it was feared the team would struggle to fill the void. But former major leaguer Andre Jackson has stepped up nicely and has an 8-7 record with a 2.90 ERA and 121 strikeouts.

The BayStars are playing with a lot of mojo now and could be a threat to the reigning Japan Series champion Tigers.

Sayonara, Aoki

There were no doubt a few tears on Wednesday, October 2 when veteran Swallows outfielder Norichika Aoki played his last game before a crowd of 29,504 at Tokyo's Jingu Stadium.

There must have been a sense of nostalgia for the fans attending. Not only is Aoki bringing an end to his illustrious career but Jingu, barring a miracle, is destined for the wrecking ball as part of a redevelopment plan in the area.

The 42-year-old Aoki went 2-for-4 with a double in Yakult's 5-3 win over Hiroshima. 

Aoki began his career with Yakult way back in 2004. In 2012, he moved to the Milwaukee Brewers and played in the 2014 World Series as a member of the Kansas City Royals during a six-year career in MLB before returning to the Swallows.

He ended his career with 2,730 hits from 2,483 games. 

"Anyone who can crank out 200-plus hits in a couple of seasons and over 190 in two others ― in any professional baseball league ― is a special player," said veteran sports journalist Rob Smaal, who covered the Swallows in the early 2000s. 

"He was truly a dynamic player in Japan," added Smaal.

True to his character, Aoki was humble after his last game.

"Thinking this will be my last [game], the scenery looked different," Aoki was quoted as saying at Jingu Stadium by Kyodo News. "I'm relieved I had a hit in my last game."

Giants Introduce Chlup

The first player from the Czech Republic to sign with a team from Nippon Professional Baseball is off to a promising start.

Outfielder Marek Chlup hit a towering two-run homer in a minor league game for the Yomiuri Giants in the third inning on Wednesday, October 2.

"I want to hit home runs," Chlup was quoted as saying by Nikkan Sports. "I've always tried to hit the ball hard to center field and that's led to good results. I'll try to continue playing this style."

The 25-year-old Chlup played college ball in the United States and and spent the last two years playing in the independent minors for the American Association of Professional Baseball's Lake Country DockHounds.

He got exposure to Japanese baseball when he hit a double in the 2023 World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome off the aforementioned Sasaki. 

Chlup signed with the Giants on a non-roster development contract and can only play in the minor leagues until he signs a standard contract and is added to the 70-man roster.

Impressions of Japanese Baseball

"I was very impressed with Japanese baseball," Chlup said, according to Kyodo News.

"[The Japan national team] is the most talented pitching staff I've ever faced. … I think they made me better by facing higher competition."

Chlup said his overall goal is to further contribute to the development of Czech baseball.

"This is a great honor for me," Chlup said of playing in Japan, according to Kyodo News. "One of my dreams is to continue to promote baseball in the Czech Republic because we are a small baseball nation, but I believe we are on the rise now."

RELATED:

• SoftBank Hawks Return to Top of Pacific League with Eye on Japan Series Crown
• [NPB NOTEBOOK] Yomiuri Giants Rookie Manager Shinnosuke Abe Revives the Team

Author: Jim Armstrong

The author is a longtime journalist who has covered sports in Japan for over 25 years. You can find his articles on SportsLook.