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The story
In the Giants–Yakult clash, Giants rookie Yamato Suzuki—making his first pro start and first at-bat—came out swinging with a go-ahead RBI single and also picked up his first career stolen base. On the mound for Yakult was 46-year-old Masanori Ishikawa, making his first start of the season, who was pulled after just 7 pitches and one out, having already allowed 4 runs. His streak of winning at least one game every season since his rookie year—25 years and counting—will have to wait. Over on the thread, the lopsided run support left fans equal parts stunned and delighted.
What people said
Giants Acting Manager Thread 114
Giants Acting Manager Thread 115
Departures
Released: #26 Imamura, #28 Takahashi, #36 Baba, #54 Otosaka, #95 Toda
Released as free agents: #29 Griffin, #33 Keller, #39 Fulp, #42 Hernandez, #50 Okoe
Active Player Draft: #68 Kikuchi
FA compensation pick: #48 Tanaka Chiharu
Trade: #59 Wakabayashi
Posted to MLB: #25 Okamoto
Retired: #7 Chono, #30 Kondo, #43 Shigenobu
Demoted to developmental roster: #69 Sasahara, #90 Ishida Mitsuru, #94 Kita, #98 Suzuki, #99 Kyomoto
Arrivals
Draft picks (regular): #21 Takemaru, #30 Tawa, #33 Kohama, #36 Yamashiro, #39 Minagawa, #99 Fujii
FA signings: #9 Matsumoto, #43 Norimoto
Active Player Draft: #54 Matsuura
Trade: —
Other: #26 Whitley, #28 Howard, #29 Dalbec, #42 Mata, #56 Kitaura, #98 Ogasawara
Promoted to first-team roster: #25 Shiroki, #48 Luciano, #50 Tima, #59 Suzuki, #68 Utsunomiya, #69 Hirayama, #94 Chinen, #95 Sasahara
2025 first-team registrations: 69
2026 first-team registrations: 70
Open uniform numbers
7, 18, 55, 83
Starting lineups
[Giants] [Yakult]
4 Urata 6 Nagaoka
9 Sasaki 9 Namiki
7 Matsumoto 5 Akabane
3 Dalbec 3 Miyamoto
2 Otsuka 7 Nishimura
5 Sakamoto 2 Koga
6 Izumiguchi 8 Iwata
8 Suzuki (Yamato) 4 Takeoka
1 Mata 1 Ishikawa
*Yamato Suzuki's first pro start, first pro at-bat
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/604e95648ab4e8136f2d4fc96df637fcf77f1d35
Better pad the lead by another 10 runs just in case
Background and Key Points
Background: The Yomiuri Giants and Tokyo Yakult Swallows are longtime Central League rivals, and this game was played at Yakult’s home park, Jingu Stadium. Yamato Suzuki debuted with a start, an RBI single, and a stolen base all in the same game — a rare feat for any NPB rookie. On the other side, Masanori Ishikawa is a 46-year-old veteran whose claim to fame is recording at least one win every single season since his rookie year, a streak of 25 straight seasons; being pulled after seven pitches and one out put that streak in jeopardy for 2026. Current Giants manager Shinnosuke Abe has built his tenure around promoting young players from the farm system, with infield/hitting coach Hashigami frequently credited by fans for developing them, which is the context behind posts crediting “Coach Hashigami’s cultivation” and “master manager Abe.”
The thread’s actual disagreement was narrow: whether it was appropriate for the Giants to keep stealing bases and running up the score after already building a six-run lead. Several posters invoked baseball’s “unwritten rules” against padding a blowout, while others pushed back that this etiquette is outdated even in the U.S., let alone something the Giants should observe against a division rival.
What outsiders may not catch is that this “unwritten rule” is a live and somewhat old-fashioned norm specifically in NPB culture, not a universal baseball law — and the jokes about Ishikawa’s team “drilling” Suzuki in retaliation are pure fan speculation, not a reported incident.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Giants Acting Manager Thread 116”.
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