2018 NPB All-Star Game

The Pacific League won both of the 2018 NPB All-Star Games to repeat their sweep of 2017.

Game 1

The first game was held July 13 at Kyocera Dome with an attendance of 33,497. It started with plenty of offense over the first three innings before things calmed down. Yusei Kikuchi went 1-2-3 in the top of the first then the PL showed little mercy to 37-year-old former MLB star Daisuke Matsuzaka, looking like a Comeback Player of the Year (2.41 ERA) until now, his first NPB All-Star Game in 12 years. CF Shogo Akiyama led off with a home run just like he did last year in the All-Star Game. Matsuzaka fanned RF Yuki Yanagita but DH Kensuke Kondo singled and Matsuzaka plunked 1B Sho Nakata. LF Masataka Yoshida singled in a second run. After Matsuzaka retired 2B Hideto Asamura, C Tomoya Mori smacked a three-run bomb for a 5-0 lead. Mori would win Game MVP.

The CL began their comeback in the second. With one out, RF Seiya Suzuki homered, DH Wladimir Balentien doubled and 3B Toshiro Miyazaki went deep for the game's 4th homer and a 5-3 score. Matsuzaka left after one and the bullpen of Randy Messenger, Onelki García and Katsuki Azuma did a pretty good job, each working at least two innings, six of the seven being shutout frames. In the third, the CL tied it against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. 2B Tetsuto Yamada singled and LF Yoshitomo Tsutsugo hit a two-out, two-run shot.

In the bottom of the 3rd, Asamura hit into a two-out error by Miyazaki and Mori doubled but Messenger got 3B Toshiaki Imae to end it. The PL retook the lead, this time for good, in the 6th. After García had pitched shutout ball in the 4th and 5th, he ran into trouble in his third inning of work. With one out, PH Shuta Tonosaki singled. That began an attack of four straight singles; RF Akira Nakamura, PH Alfredo Despaigne and 1B Hotaka Yamakawa did the job to make it 7-5.

The CL pulled a little closer in the 8th off Tatsuya Uchi. SS Kosuke Tanaka singled, stole second and wound up scoring on a one-out grounder by RF Ryosuke Hirata. With two outs in the 9th, C Seiji Kobayashi doubled off Hirotoshi Masui but Masui retired Yamada on a game-ending ground out.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Central	0	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	10	2
Pacific	5	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	X	7	14	0

Players used

Pacific League Starting Lineup

1. Shogo Akiyama, CF (Seibu Lions)
2. Yuki Yanagita, RF (Softbank Hawks)
3. Kensuke Kondo, DH (Nippon Ham Fighters)
4. Sho Nakata, 1B (Nippon Ham)
5. Masataka Yoshida, LF (Orix Buffaloes)
6. Hideto Asamura, 2B (Seibu)
7. Tomoya Mori, C (Seibu)
8. Toshiaki Imae, 3B (Rakuten Golden Eagles)
9. Ryoichi Adachi, SS (Orix)

• Yusei Kikuchi, P (Seibu)

Backups Used

• Shuta Tonosaki, CF (Seibu)
• Akira Nakamura, RF (Softbank)
• Alfredo Despaigne, DH (Softbank)
• Hotaka Yamakawa, 1B (Seibu)
• Shogo Nakamura, 2B (Chiba Lotte Marines)
• Takuya Kai, C (Softbank)
• Nobuhiro Matsuda, 3B (Softbank)
• Sosuke Genda, SS (Seibu)
• Yoshinobu Yamamoto, P (Orix)
• Mike Bolsinger, P (Chiba Lotte)
• Naoki Miyanishi, P (Nippon Ham)
• Yuito Mori, P (Softbank)
• Tatsuya Uchi, P (Chiba Lotte)
• Hirotoshi Masui, P (Orix)

Manager

• Kimiyasu Kudoh (Softbank)
• Hideki Kuriyama (Nippon Ham)

Coaches

• Hatsuhiko Tsuji (Seibu)
• Yosuke Hiraishi (Rakuten)

Central League Starting Lineup

1. Tetsuto Yamada, 2B (Yakult Swallows)
2. Norichika Aoki, CF (Yakult)
3. Hayato Sakamoto, SS (Yomiuri Giants)
4. Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, LF (Yokohama BayStars)
5. Seiya Suzuki, RF (Hiroshima Carp)
6. Wladimir Balentien, DH (Yakult)
7. Toshiro Miyazaki, 3B (Yokohama)
8. Kazuma Okamoto, 1B (Yomiuri)
9. Tsubasa Aizawa, C (Hiroshima)

• Daisuke Matsuzaka, P (Chunichi Dragons)

Backups Used

• Tomotaka Sakaguchi, CF (Yakult)
• Kosuke Tanaka, SS (Hiroshima)
• Ryosuke Hirata, RF (Chunichi)
• Yoshio Itoi, DH (Hanshin Tigers)
• Yuhei Nakamura, DH (Yakult)
• Kento Itohara, 3B (Hanshin)
• Seiji Kobayashi, C (Yomiuri)
• Randy Messenger, P (Hanshin)
• Onelki García, P (Chunichi)
• Katsuki Azuma, P (Yokohama)

Manager

• Koichi Ogata (Hiroshima)

Coaches

• Tomoaki Kanemoto (Hanshin)
• Alex Ramirez (Yokohama)

Umpires

• Hidetomo Ashihara (HP), Tetsuo Yamaji (1B), Kenjiro Mori (2B), Takanori Yamamoto (3B), Minoru Nakamura (RF), Yoshiharu Yamaguchi (LF)

Game 2

Game 2 was held July 14 in front of a much smaller crowd (13,760) at Fujisakidai Baseball Stadium. Things started off more in the pitchers' favor than yesterday. Takayuki Kishi and Andrew Albers shut down the CL for the first four (Albers would get the win) while Tomoyuki Sugano, Daichi Osera and Yuta Iwasada held the PL off the board for four as well. In the top of the 5th, they got through to Iwasada. 3B Nobuhiro Matsuda doubled, Game MVP SS Sosuke Genda doubled him in and C Takuya Kai singled as the 7-8-9 hitters produced two runs quickly.

In the 7th, the PL got insurance. PH Asamura singled off Taichi Ishiyama, as did DH Yoshida and PH Imae to make it 3-0. In the 8th, LF Kondo led off with a single against Yasuaki Yamasaki. With two away, the inning nearly ended but SS Kento Itohara made an error on a ball hit by C Tomoya Mori. CF Yanagita singled in a run and Asamura doubled in another for a 5-0 lead. Unlike yesterday's 5-0 lead after one, the pitchers had little time to give back this one.

The CL got their only run in the bottom of the eighth. 2B Ryosuke Kikuchi singled against Ren Kajiya and Itohara tried to make up for his error with a run-scoring double. Kajiya retired the next three, though, including ex-big leaguers Norichika Aoki and José López, then Yuito Mori had a 1-2-3 ninth to wrap it up.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pacific	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	2	0	5	13	0
Central	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	7	2

Players used

Pacific League Starting Lineup

1. Yanagita, CF
2. Tonosaki, RF
3. Despaigne, DH
4. Yamakawa, 1B
5. S. Nakamura, 2B
6. A. Nakamura, LF
7. Matsuda, 3B
8. Genda, SS
9. Kai, C

• Takayuki Kishi, P (Rakuten)

Backups Used

• Asamura, 2B
• Yoshida, DH
• Imae, 1B
• Akiyama, RF
• Kondo, LF
• Adachi, SS
• T. Mori, C
• Andrew Albers, P (Orix)
• Ayumu Ishikawa, P (Chiba Lotte)
• Naoyuki Uwasawa, P (Nippon Ham)
• Ren Kajiya, P (Softbank)
• Y. Mori, P

Central League Starting Lineup

1. Sakamoto, SS
2. Aoki, CF
3. José López, 1B (Yokohama)
4. Tsutsugo, DH
5. Suzuki, RF
6. Balentien, LF
7. Miyazaki, 3B
8. Ryosuke Kikuchi, 2B (Hiroshima)
9. Kobayashi, C

• Tomoyuki Sugano, P (Yomiuri)

Backups Used

• Yuhei Nakamura, C (Yakult)
• Okamoto, 1B
• Tanaka, SS
• Sakaguchi, 1B/CF
• Yamada, DH
• Hirata, LF
• Itohara, SS/3B
• Daichi Osera, P (Hiroshima)
• Yuta Iwasada, P (Hanshin)
• Koji Uehara, P (Yomiuri)
• Taichi Ishiyama, P (Yakult)
• Yasuaki Yamasaki, P (Yokohama)
• Shota Nakazaki, P (Hiroshima)

Umpires

• Yamaguchi (HP), Nakamura (1B), Yamamoto (2B), Mori (3B), Yamaji (RF), Ashihara (LF)