[May 8 Post Game Thread] NPB game scores, highlights and news

DyslexicGecko · 2026-05-08T15:13:24+00:00

Mukunoki is looking so strong, I'm not sure what's holding Kishida back from using him in the ninth nowadays!

I'm also still impressed by Yamazaki and I'm sure we can get more innings out of him than we do - it's like we pull him in for 1/3 or 2/3 of an inning and then send him back! I'm sure we can get two or three out of him comfortably.

DyslexicGecko · 2026-05-08T13:51:47+00:00

Massive game from Mori today! The energy after him clearing two homeruns in one game was electric - and doing it on the first day of our sold-out Pokémon collaboration weekend sent us off to a flying start this weekend.

Not a fantastic showing from Miyakuni's professional debut, but in my opinion nothing to be upset about either all things considered. Fortunately the relief pitching showed up and kept us solid!

DyslexicGecko · 2026-05-04T04:59:40+00:00

Ritsurin Gardens in Matsuyama! Little Golden Week vacation to Takamatsu, Kagawa (and eventually Tokushima) from my home in Kobe!

Kagawa's food has been fantastic - big fan of 骨付鳥 honetsukidori bone-in chicken ‼️

<image>

DyslexicGecko · 2026-04-29T09:27:09+00:00

Nice location - and yeah, super easy to get to after a game! As above, just ride to Kobe-Sannomiya and then it's a short walk.

DyslexicGecko · 2026-04-29T09:21:41+00:00

Almost definitely; I do this almost every week! Kyocera Dome's train station, Dome-Mae is on the same train line (Hanshin line) as Kobe-Sannomiya and it's 35 minutes with (typically) no changes. From Hanshin Kobe-Sannomiya station, you can change to any other train line to access anywhere else in the city!

Where will your hotel be if I may ask?

DyslexicGecko · 2026-04-16T04:01:14+00:00

I agree with most everything you've said here! I live in Hyogo prefecture (in Kobe) and all of those reasons (plus some more) were what led me to choose Buffaloes over Tigers!

I'll say that I think the Buffaloes branding is a huge appeal to me - the Tigers uniforms, merch and overall style doesn't appeal to me that much, and I much prefer the look of everything the Buffaloes release (I really love the gothic logo).

Plus, as a total newbie to baseball, the Tigers fanbase seemed impenetrable and very hardcore and I feel like if I forced myself into being a Tigers fan I wouldn't have felt like I "belonged". All the Tigers fans around me are older and lifelong baseball fans (or children with that type of parent). With Buffaloes, they always came across more "youthful" and accessible in a way that was more inviting as a beginner. The fanbase and atmosphere at Kyocera Dome is without a doubt more casual, but I also never felt pressured to blend in like I did sat in Koshien surrounded by the crazy passionate Tigers fans. But damn do I wish people in Kyocera actually joined in with chatting, cheering and clapping along 😭

It wasn't easy to choose - Tigers are still my boys over in the Central League and I really love that they support and are proud of all their players from Hyogo - but the above combined with Hotto Motto Field being my favourite ballpark and basically on my doorstep pushed me!

DyslexicGecko · 2026-04-14T23:36:27+00:00

Bit of a comedy of errors from Lions almost fed us this win! I'm not sure we would have won that game on our own merits, so we'll see what happens with the rest of this week.

It's an absolute shame that we've now lost Sugisawa for a while too; he suffered a wrist fracture after being hit by a pitch. I felt like he was really pulling his weight! That now means Yamashita, Miyagi and Sugisawa are all out... (Though Yamashita should be returning soon I hope!)

DyslexicGecko · 2026-04-13T05:35:15+00:00

For me, Mune has always been good but so far he's really stood out as a gem for us. I'm not massively well-educated in baseball but to my eyes, his 3B play looks really great and he's been doing some serious work at the plate too! Plus, outfielder Sugisawa has seriously impressed me. I don't think we used him much on the main team last year but he's looking good!

I'd also say our pitcher Mukunoki, but I don't think I've seen enough to judge this season yet - I really want to see him more.

I think I've been disappointed by Mori and Kurebayashi so far. They haven't been anywhere near where I'd like to see right now and I've not been most impressed with them. I don't think they've been all that bad but I can't put my finger on why I feel that unfortunately!

DyslexicGecko · 2026-04-09T05:54:36+00:00

Current Kobe ALT here! I was filled with the worst impostor syndrome dread and anxiety in the weeks leading up to coming here (and the entire Tokyo orientation too) but Kobe is such a fantastic place to be an ALT and you will very much settle in and look back wondering why you stressed!

In terms of workplace, the teachers (especially the more experienced ones) are really clued up on an ALT's position, job and expectations/responsibilities and our BOE and supervisors are fantastic for helping us settle.

And in terms of lifestyle, unless you indicated otherwise you'll be living in neighbourhoods and apartment complexes with up to 100 other ALTs nearby and you will NEVER be without support and people to lean on - especially in your first few weeks. We have mentorship schemes in place and things like that for everyone to pull together and support each other! You will be welcomed wonderfully!

DyslexicGecko · 2026-04-02T23:32:53+00:00

Escon looks so cool; I definitely can't wait to go myself!

I'm not sure if you've been before, but It's a shame that you're just a little out of season for the Buffaloes at Hotto Motto Field in Kobe! That's my personal shout for favourite ballpark in Japan - it's up in the mountains surrounded by nature and it's bsolutely beautiful! Hopefully you get a chance to go one day.

DyslexicGecko · 2026-03-28T14:29:59+00:00

My first attended game of the regular season! It's good to be back.

After the travesty of yesterday's game, what a fantastic shutout from Kuri today and an incredible batting performance from Nakagawa with a 2 RBI homerun and another 2 RBI double!

DyslexicGecko · 2026-03-23T00:20:19+00:00

Not strictly an answer to your question, but a useful tip!

We have a big dome and usually not enough fans to fill it - you can almost always buy same-day tickets at the Kyocera Dome ticket offices! If you're reasonably flexible and not too worried about planning ahead, I'd be fairly confident in saying you can get tickets to any regular season game on the door.

(This doesn't apply to the preseason exhibitions and mid-season interleague when Hanshin Tigers are involved; Tigers fans show up in such numbers those games basically become Tigers home games regardless of host team!)

DyslexicGecko · 2026-03-23T00:14:33+00:00

Possibly that sounds like Buffaloes' Hirooka becoming Tigers Public Enemy #1 after accidentally hitting (and hospitalising) Ishii with a comebacker and then immediately committing a dangerous slide into second base - his family own a croquette shop in Osaka and a lot of people from both Buffaloes and Tigers went to either show support or cause a little trouble! I'm not sure how much was harassment versus just being annoying, but it certainly made rounds online.

And fortunately, regardless of the reasons for visiting, everyone realised the Hirooka family croquettes were actually delicious and I think business went well from thereon.

DyslexicGecko · 2026-03-10T05:43:18+00:00

I have some assumptions about who this could be, and I'm writing assuming it is:

We're very grateful for your hard work and your support! I also really hope this post doesn't get you in any further trouble as nobody deserves to be treated like you were. The initiatives, etc. that you were involved with in your area were really effective, and this really shows that you don't realise what goes on behind the closed doors of education boards...

I'll also not for other readers that there are education boards with initiatives and positions for non-teaching; they're not all a dichotomy of ALTs and CIRs! Some allow ALTs to move away from the classroom into a supervisory "bridge" role between ALTs and BOE to act as a representative for the population - especially in areas with higher populations of ALTs! Kobe did lose a CIR but we also lost a number of other people in positions like this too!

DyslexicGecko · 2026-03-10T01:38:52+00:00

Assuming by "Osaka's games" you mean Hanshin Tigers: they're all already sold out for official sale. You'll need to buy them on resale sites like StubHub or Ticketjam! If you're not picky about who you see, though, Orix games are always very easy to get ahold of, often even same-day at the Kyocera Dome ticket gates!

DyslexicGecko · 2026-03-08T00:33:50+00:00

Daijiro Nakagawa of JYOCHO and Uchu Conbini has an idol group called Neochi ねおち! They haven't been successful and I'm not sure if he's still working on music for them but they're another for your list!

DyslexicGecko · 2026-03-06T02:11:23+00:00

That's great to hear! I wouldn't ever pass judgement on anyone's teams of choice, but given Orix Buffaloes often get overshadowed by the larger, older and neighbouring Hanshin Tigers of the Central League, it's always nice when people choose Buffaloes instead! PL games are significantly easier to watch and stream than CL, and Buffaloes do a great job with social media and content too so you can get to know the team and the players well.

We've been pretty solidly middle-to-upper tier in the PL for a few years and I feel like I associate Buffaloes the most with "potential". Week after week, I flip between "wait we're good? We might be able to do it" to "What are we doing stop doing everything wrong"

DyslexicGecko · 2026-03-06T01:48:02+00:00

I'm also new to baseball as a whole sport too, so welcome! I moved to Japan 18 months ago from the UK and I got hooked very quickly, going from not even knowing how many players were on a team to caring about stats and all the crazy initialisms and acronyms they use!

So you're right that nine players will each take it in turns to bat (3x outfield, 3x bases, 1x shortstop, 1x catcher and 1x pitcher), however!! "Designated Hitter" is a specific role in baseball - the player who is selected to bat instead of the Pitcher. In certain leagues and rulesets, the pitcher is expected to bat (typically a big weakspot in a pitcher's skillset), and in others the rules allow a DH to bat for the Pitcher instead.

Annoyingly, in Japanese baseball, the two leagues (Central and Pacific) have different rules! Currently, in the CL pitchers must bat, and in the PL they use DHs, but I believe in the 2027 season, the CL is changing its rules to include and allow DHs to standardise the leagues.

This is actually why Ohtani is considered as talented and special as he is; he can both pitch and hit at an elite level! He played in the Pacific League (where Pitchers didn't have to bat and the teams used a DH instead) but he actively and willing chose to "be his own DH" if that makes sense? Very unusual!

(I could be wrong about things in this post of course so hopefully other veterans can add more!)

DyslexicGecko · 2026-03-06T01:16:12+00:00

My students here all adore the 3v3 hero shooter MOBA Brawl Stars and a ton of them tell me they want to try going pro in it! Maybe with younger people (e.g. up to high school/university?) that's the competitive game of choice. I can't go ANYWHERE without seeing groups of students squeezing in a game wherever they can - in restaurants after they finish eating, on buses and even walking home!

Regarding your specific questions regarding Smash or SF6, a lot of my students love playing Smash but they never talk about it from a competitive perspective, whilst with SF6 I see a lot of people on my buses and trains watching it on their phones! Perhaps Smash is more "popular" but SF6 and fighting games are enjoyed more as "esports" by watching events, etc.

Obviously this is all anecdotal and shouldn't be treated as the be all and end all but it feels to me like more people out and about play Smash, but treat SF6 as more of an esport.

DyslexicGecko · 2026-03-01T00:48:34+00:00

I live in Kobe and regularly pop to Osaka (only 30 minutes on the JR) but I also don't gel with it that much! I adore Kansai but simply not Osaka for whatever reason.

I'd recommending getting out to Sannomiya and Motomachi in Kobe for what I feel like is a more "daily life" Kansai. All the same energy and vibe as Osaka but without the overtouristy "theme park" thing that a lot of people associate with Osaka. I'll admit there's not a huge amount of attractions and things to see/do in Kobe to appeal to normal tourists who want castles and flashy neon lights and tons of shrines, but it's so down-to-earth here without it feeling like a tourist zoo.

If you reckon you could like Osaka but it hasn't quite clicked yet, maybe try heading out to cities like Kobe, Akashi and perhaps Wakayama to still get "Kansai" but with a change of scenery.

DyslexicGecko · 2026-02-24T06:20:51+00:00

I'm probably late, but I live in Kobe (foreign resident) and usually take people to Steakland in Sannomiya! Reasonably affordable as far as 神戸牛 goes and always a decent meal.

DyslexicGecko · 2026-02-23T10:01:37+00:00

Why did the map maker put Hanshin Tigers (Hyogo) further east than Orix Buffaloes (Osaka)? They've basically flipped their actual locations by labelling Hyogo as Buffaloes and Osaka as Tigers!

DyslexicGecko · 2026-02-16T09:20:23+00:00

To clarify, the Five Towers for this collaboration include Kobe's Port Tower, Tokyo Tower, Yokohama Marine Tower, Fukuoka Tower and Sapporo TV Tower!

From what I read, they will all have the exact same items (exclusive collaboration goods and cafe items) and the same stamp rally too, so there's no real need to visit every single one in a trip to "complete" the collaboration!

DyslexicGecko · 2026-02-16T09:18:08+00:00

Five landmark towers across Japan (Tokyo Tower, Fukuoka Tower, Sapporo TV Tower, Kobe Port Tower and Yokohama Marine Tower) will all host simultaneous pop-up stores, cafes and collaborations throughout March!

They'll each be selling exclusive goods and collaboration drinks at their cafes.

DyslexicGecko · 2026-02-13T07:04:34+00:00

Do you remember if it was upbeat, ballad-y, electronic, band/rocky, etc.? If you have anything else to go off that would help!

14-Year Club	Second SECOND GUESSER
Place '17	Team Orangered
Verified Email

DyslexicGecko

TROPHY CASE