NPB Odds, Picks & Best Bets for July 16: Buffaloes Look to Bring Hawks Back to Earth
- Fighters counting on VerHagen to lead them to second straight win over Marines
- Despite consecutive defeats, Orix hopeful of bringing high-flying Hawks down to earth
- See odds and best bets for all six Nippon Professional Baseball games on July 16
With five consecutive wins, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, the defending Nippon Professional Baseball champions, are currently climbing up the Pacific League standings. Now just two games back of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, the Hawks are in the midst of a six-game series with the last-place Orix Buffaloes, and having won the first two, are looking for more.
However, Orix had been in something of a revival before those losses, losing just one of eight games prior to that. Former Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones is capturing the imagination of the fans, and is closing in on 2,000 hits combined between both the major leagues and the Japanese leagues.
The Buffaloes will be confident of bouncing back on Thursday, but before we look at that game, here’s a look at all of NPB’s slate of games.
NPB Odds: July 16th
| Team | Runline | Win | Over/Under Run Total | Game Time (Eastern) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks | -1.5 (-125) | -215 | O 8 (-115) | 5 a.m. |
| Orix Buffaloes | +1.5 (-105) | +175 | U 8 (-115) | |
| Team | Runline | Win | Over/Under Run Total | Game Time (Eastern) |
| Yokohama DeNA Baystars | -1.5 (+145) | -115 | O 8 (-115) | 5 a.m. |
| Chunichi Dragons | +1.5 (-175) | -115 | U 8 (-115) | |
| Team | Runline | Win | Over/Under Run Total | Game Time (Eastern) |
| Tokyo Yakult Swallows | -1.5 (+130) | -125 | O 8 (-115) | 5 a.m. |
| Hanshin Tigers | +1.5 (-160) | -105 | U 8 (-115) | |
| Team | Runline | Win | Over/Under Run Total | Game Time (Eastern) |
| Yomiuri Giants | -1.5 (+100) | -150 | O 8.5 (-115) | 5 a.m. |
| Hiroshima Toyo Carp | +1.5 (-130) | +120 | U 8.5 (-115) | |
| Team | Runline | Win | Over/Under Run Total | Game Time (Eastern) |
| Chiba Lotte Marines | -1.5 (+125) | -130 | O 7.5 (-115) | 5 a.m. |
| Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters | +1.5 (-155) | +100 | U 7.5 (-115) | |
| Team | Runline | Win | Over/Under Run Total | Game Time (Eastern) |
| Saitama Seibu Lions | +1.5 (-120) | +140 | O 9 (-115) | 5 a.m. |
| Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles | -1.5 (-110) | -170 | U 9 (-115) |
Odds as of July 15th.
Hokkaido Turns To VerHagen
The Chiba Lotte Marines may very much be the favorites in Thursday’s matchup with the Nippon-Ham Fighters, but Hokkaido will be hoping that the presence of Drew VerHagen on the mound will be the great equalizer.
MASSIVE homerun from Leonys Martin gives the Marines the lead 4-2! His second HR in as many days. #chibalotte #マーティン pic.twitter.com/7VPwkB23dG
— Tom Mussa (@tom_mussa) July 15, 2020
Pitchers don’t play in six consecutive major-league seasons unless they have some measure of ability about them, and after spending those six seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the right-hander may well be still finding his feet in NPB.
The Fighters will be hoping that VerHagen can return to the form he showed in his first start in Japan, when he spread three hits and one walk over six innings, giving up just one earned run in an 8-5 over the Tohoku Golden Eagles late last month.
.@DrewVerHagen set a career high with 11 strikeouts last night! #MotorOn pic.twitter.com/QmEquk2zWe
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 24, 2019
Since then, the 29-year-old hasn’t been so fortunate, giving up seven more earned runs over 10.1 innings to move his ERA out to 4.41.
NPB starting pitchers announced for Jul 16 #npb pic.twitter.com/FPqQQj9euM
— NPB on reddit (@NPB_Reddit) July 15, 2020
In contrast, Chiba’s starter has seemingly improved with every season he’s played at this level, lowering his ERA from 4.56 his first year to 1.69 in this, his third season in Japan’s big leagues. Daiki Iwashita is 2-0 on the year, and 8-6 in his career, with a 3.66 ERA.
Pick: Fighters (+100); U 7.5 (-115)
Buffaloes Look To Stop Streaking Hawks
Currently on a season-best five-game win streak, the two-time defending-champion Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks have started their series at Orix Buffaloes with a real sense of purpose, winning both contests. And neither game has been close, with Fukuoka triumphing 10-3 and then 7-0 on Wednesday.
[Jul 15] Orix Buffaloes vs Softbank Hawks game highlights from Kyocera Dome https://t.co/WgXx9BRRsc via @PacificleagueTV #npb
— NPB on reddit (@NPB_Reddit) July 15, 2020
Orix will turn to Sachiya Yamasaki to help turn the tide. The left-hander has enjoyed a decent 2020 so far, giving up five earned runs but just eight hits over 10 innings, although his accuracy has been something of an issue. Yamasaki has issued eight walks too.
The Orix Buffaloes have made an Adameter, to track how close Adam Jones is to reaching 2,000 hits combined between MLB and NPB, to be displayed on the large screen at Buffaloes home games https://t.co/NZtNtkMqOX #npb
— NPB on reddit (@NPB_Reddit) July 15, 2020
Fukuoka’s starter is no sure thing, however. Rick van den Hurk has struggled so far in 2020 after a decent 2019 campaign, where he posted an ERA of 3.12 in a small sample size of just three games.
This year, in the same three-game sample, he is 1-1 with a 6.38 ERA, having given up 13 earned runs in just 18.1 innings. More worrying is the sharp increase in his WHIP rate, moving from 0.865 last year to 1.255 this season.
Pick: Buffaloes (+175); O 8 (-115)
For the last 20 years, Paul Attfield has worked in sports media. Starting out in his native Britain with the likes of The Independent, he eventually switched continents, with his work appearing in the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Yahoo Sports since.
