Nippon Professional Baseball League Predictions for Friday, August 26

By Chris Horton

23 Aug 2022

Chris Horton 23 Aug 2022

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This week's Nippon Professional Baseball League predictions
Nippon Professional Baseball League stats
Tokyo Yakult Swallows at Yokohama DeNA BayStars
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks at Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

Inform your Nippon Professional Baseball league predictions ahead of this week's biggest matches with Pinnacle's weekly update, including analysis, team news, and the latest baseball odds.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows at Yokohama DeNA BayStars

The Tokyo Yakult Swallows looked to have the Central League of the Nippon Professional Baseball League sewn up with a 56-34 record going into the All-Star break.

However, the Swallows have played below .500 since then and they are being chased down at speed by the Yokohama DeNA BayStars who are on a remarkable run.

Yokohama have won 14 of their 16 games since the All-Star break and sport a 56-2-47 record at the time of writing, closing in rapidly on the leaders of the division. The BayStars have also become just the third team in NPB history to win 16 games in a row at home.

Bet on Tokyo Yakult Swallows vs. Yokohama DeNA BayStars

On Saturday, they face the Swallows, whose record at the time of writing is 63-1-46 and who will be looking over their shoulders at the rapidly closing BayStars.

Munetaka Murakami has continued his top form for Yakult with a batting average of .327, 107 RBIs (runs batted in), and 44 home runs – topping the Central League in all three categories.

The BayStars have two hitters of their own who have more than pulled their weight, with Keita Sano’s .325 batting average second only to Murakami’s and Toshiro Miyazaki’s not far behind at .318.

Those big hitters could be the key to this crucial matchup between the two teams vying for the Central League title. The question remains whether or not the BayStars can keep up their frantic pace and whether the Swallows can fight off their late challenge.

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks at Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Saitama Seibu Lions have also been in a back-and-forth battle, fighting for top spot in the Pacific League, with the Hawks making ground on their rivals in recent weeks.

Fukuoka have a record of 57-2-49 at the time of writing and face the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, who sport the worst record in the NPB at 44-2-66, on Saturday.

For the Hawks, Kenta Imamiya has been leading the way. His .300 batting average ranks third in the Pacific and he also leads the league in sacrifice bunts with 15.

The one positive of the Fighters’ dismal season has been the efforts of Go Matsumoto, whose .356 batting average is the best in the NPB.

Matsumoto has also stolen 21 bases and has proven to be one of the only offensive outlets in a struggling Nippon-Ham line-up.

The Hawks need to win games like these, against a Nippon-Ham team who have lost five in a row, if they are to close the gap between themselves and the Lions at the top of the section.

Bet on Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks vs. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

Saitama Seibu Lions at Orix Buffaloes

The Saitama Seibu Lions have managed to hold on to the Pacific League lead despite the queue of teams lining up to have a crack at them, and they will need to continue their consistent displays to secure the division title.

Seibu have a record of 60-3-51 at the time of writing and face the Orix Buffaloes on Saturday, who are just outside of the playoff places with a record of 59-55 currently.

Seibu’s star pitcher has been Kona Takahashi, whose 2.29 ERA (earned run average) ranks second in the league. In fact, the only hurler with a better record is the Buffaloes’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto, whose 1.71 ERA is the second-best in the entire NPB and has led the 24-year-old to a 11-5 record, to go along with his 154 strikeouts, the best in the Pacific.

Both teams will have serious plans for the postseason and in such a competitive division, every game from here until the end of the regular season will count.

Bet on Saitama Seibu Lions vs. Orix Buffaloes

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