NPB sees explosive start to 2026 regular season

Yomiuri Giants outfielder Trey Cabbage set the tone for NPB batters on the opening night of the season on Friday when he sent Hanshin Tigers starter Shoki Murakami’s second pitch of the game into the stands. 

Cabbage’s blast at Tokyo Dome was the first of the 2026 regular season, but he had a lot of company in the home run column by the end of the night. 

There were 12 homers across Japanese baseball on Friday night, including six in the contest between the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.