Interleague Kind to Hawks

One could argue that some teams in the Central League are weaker than the teams in the Pacific League. It certainly seems that way when looking at the Softbank Hawks this season. Before interleague play began, they were middling around .500 and could not stand success. While this has also been the case at times in interleague, after a 2-game sweep at the hands of the Tigers (losing 3-out-of-4 overall), the Hawks have won 5 of their last 6.

A series split came to the hands of the Hiroshima Carp at Hrioshima Shimin Kyujoh. The first game was an 8-4 Hawks win thanks to the slugging prowess of Hiroki Kokubo and Nobuhiro Matsuda. Pitching-wise, starter Nagisa Arakaki only was able to go 3 and 2/3 innings before giving the ball to the bullpen. Koji Mise, of all people, got the win with 1 and 1/3 innings of solid pitching.

The next game was not so kind to the Hawks, as super gaijin Colby Lewis took the mound. Hawks starter Tsuyoshi Wada threw up a stinker, only going 4 innings while giving up 3 runs on 4 hits while striking out 5. Shinsuke Ogura, one of the standout rookies for the Hawks, was not as effective as we've seen him in the past, as he gave up 3 runs in his only inning of work.

Softbank then took the field back at Yahoo! Dome against the Chunichi Dragons, who swept them at Nagoya Dome previously. The Hawks returned the favor with some good pitching. Rick Guttormson got through 5.1 innings, but got credit for the win, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits, with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts. The Hawks offense got back at Dragons starter Takashi Ogasawara, pounding him for 4 runs on 8 hits in 3.1 innings. In the 4th inning, the Hawks got 5 straight hits to drive in 3 of their 5 runs to anchor the 5-2 victory.

The 2nd game was closer, but Kenji Ohtonari paced the Hawks, as he went the distance and put forth his first good start in a long time. In his 9 innings, the young southpaw gave up 2 runs on 5 hits, 2 walks and 9 strikeouts over 145 pitches. Hiroshi Shibahara paced the offense, going 3-for-4 with 2 singles and a double. Nobuhiko Matsunaka drove in 2 of Softbank's 3 runs in the 3-2 victory.

After sweeping the Dragons, the Hawks turned their attention to the cellar-dwelling Yokohama BayStars. Softbank sent ace Toshiya Sugiuchi to the mound and he recorded Softbank's 2nd complete game in a row. Sugiuchi did not start well as he gave up a home run to BayStars center fielder Tatsuhiko Kinjoh. After that, it was clear sailing for Sugiuchi. In his complete game, Sugiuchi gave up only one run on 4 hits, walking 1 and striking out 10 over 117 pitches. The Hawks won 3-1 with some help from Nobuhiko Matsunaka, as he drove in 2 runs.

Tsuyoshi Wada then took the mound, and he posted the Hawks 3rd straight complete game. In 9 innings, Wada gave up only 1 run while scattering 8 hits, walking 1 and striking out 9. Once again, the BayStars' only offense came in the 1st inning, this time thanks to a trio of singles. However, the Hawks offense was paced by home runs from Matsunaka and Nakahishi.

By virtue of the Chiba Lotte Marines weekend sweep of the Hanshin Tigers, the Hawks now lead interleague play overall by 1 game, at 13-7. The Hawks final 2 series in interleague are on the road in Tokyo, as the Hawks take on the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, with whom they split a series earlier in interleague, and then they close out interleague against the Yomiuri Giants, whom they swept in Yahoo! Dome.

The Hawks are 10-2 at home in interleague, but only 3-5 on the road. How the Hawks perform in these final four games will determine who will win the interleague competition. Hanshin and Nippon Ham are 12-8 in interleague, 1 game behind Softbank. Rakuten is 1.5 games back at 12-7, and they also stand a chance to win the Interleague competition. It will be a tight race, with these four teams all in contention.