The Best Bets For Nippon Professional Baseball June 30th

While the MLB is yet to start training and gameplay expected to begin only in late July, baseball is still going on in Japan. Having completed their first full week of matches, the Nippon Professional Baseball league has seen some shocking results and an incredible performance by the offensive side of the teams playing. This newly found aggressive match behavior has led to a serious surge in scores, and the Lotte Marines are sitting comfortably at the top of the leaderboard, winning eight straight. But this scoring surge has also seen promising teams lose matches by one or two runs, setting the stage for a highly competitive season. 

Orix Buffaloes.

Case in point - the Orix Buffaloes. The fact that they got swept in a six-game series and are left with a 1-8 record is itself shocking. But when you look more closely, it is clear that Orix lost four of its six losses by one run, and another one by a mere two runs. They have definitely been putting up stiff competition and playing a good game, but have fallen short every time. 

This week, they will be playing against the Seibu Lions (who are currently sporting a 5-4 record). Orix will be leading with Andrew Albers as their pitcher this game, which is increasingly important for them to win. Albers seems to be the right pick - he has played three NPB seasons and his debut season alone made him a hot commodity in the league with a record of 9-2. But what is the problem here? His performance at the beginning of the season last week was poor. He gave up several runs including home runs, but since many were in the first innings, the hope is that he has gotten a grip over his momentum. 

The Lions will send in Kona Takahashi, with a record of 10-6 last season. His performance in his first game this season was a step up from Albers’, as he helped the Lions win the game. Takahashi’s stats look formidable, including his 2017 season in Australia where in just five games, he thrashed his opponents and left with a record of eight runs per nine innings. 

The final call for this match, however, rests in favor of the Orix Buffaloes. They might not be the best team in the league, and they are unlikely to make it to the top. But they are a good team with a solid pitcher, and a string of losses will only motivate them to win this away game. 

Yomiuri and Yokohama.

Yomiuri is currently sitting at the top of the Central League, and their upcoming match again Yokohama will be the thriller of the season. Yokohama is also at the top, currently placed second in the Central League. While the previous week may have had some mismatched games where one team was clearly stronger than the other, this match is not that. It will be very interesting to see how it goes since both teams are stronger than ever and have it in them to beat the other. 

Yomiuri won with an astounding margin of 12-0 against Tokyo on Sunday, and their 20-year-old Togo is riding the wave. In his previous three games in the NPB, he has a solid record of 2-0 and an ERA of 2.35. His move from the minor leagues has only compounded the strength Yomiuri already has. Yokohama’s response to this line up is Yamaguchi. He pitched 8.1 innings where the team won 3-0 against Chunichi. His career record in the past three years, 21-16, pitches him as a great match against Togo. Despite the strengths on both sides, your pick ought to be the Yomiuri Giants, given their impeccable performance this season. 

Lotte Marines and Rakuten Eagles.

Coming fresh from a six-game trashing of the Buffaloes, the Marines are set to play away from home against the Eagles. The Marines are coming off a winning streak and are certainly going to hope to continue it. Their pitcher is most likely going to be Kota Futaki, who's pitching was in the form up until the 5th inning in his last match. The Eagles will send Yuke to pitch in this game, given how he aced his first game this season. He played 6.2 innings and only allowed 3 hits and one walk. The prediction is the Eagles will pull through in this match and win, given Yuke’s incredible form.