First-year SoftBank left-hander Matt Moore is the guest, we look at the Hawks, talk about the Pacific League race – not much to debate in the Central League – then discuss the huge milestone Giants manager Tatsunori Hara surpassed last week, look at a pair of careers that have been revived and handle some HighHeat.

Second-year right-hander Zach Neal of Seibu is the guest, we look at the Lions, talk about the Pacific and Central league races, hit on the retirement announcement from Hanshin reliever Kyuji Fujikawa and touch on the subtleties of the balk rule.

First-year Hiroshima utility man Jose Pirela is the guest, we discuss the Carp, look at the hottest and coldest teams of August in our Mini Trax power rankings segment and handle a couple of high-quality HighHeat questions.

First-year Nippon Ham righty Drew VerHagen is the guest, we discuss skipper Norifumi Nishimura stepping down as manager of the Orix Buffaloes, look at the Pacific and Central league races and talk about the notion of unwritten rules in Japanese baseball.

Second-year reliever Alan Busenitz of Rakuten is the guest, we talk about the Eagles, look at the Yasuhiro Ryan Ogawa 29-out no-hitter against DeNA, examine the early candidates for league MVPs and rookies of the year, touch on Hideki Kuriyama of Nippon Ham recording his 600th managerial victory and handle some HighHeat.

NPB’s all-time saves leader among imports Dennis Sarfate is the guest, we talk about the Hawks, the team’s recent coronavirus scare, look at the success of DeNA skipper Alex Ramirez, discuss the players being ready to stand up against the Tazawa Rule, IF Daiki Masuda’s unusual mound appearance and handle some HighHeat.

Chunichi roving hitting coach Alonzo Powell is the guest, we talk about the Dragons, present our first Mini Trax power rankings segment of the season, examine NPB bullpen blowups, discuss the top performers so far and add a note on the postponed Hawks-Lions game because of COVID-19.

Nick Martinez of Nippon Ham is the featured guest, John E. Gibson and Jim Allen break his chat, discuss the complicated Fighters and their mixture of openers, short starters, lineup changes and roster moves, talk about the Pacific and Central leagues, keying on the spotlight on DeNA skipper Alex Ramirez, hit a couple of notes (Osera and Itohara), and handle some HighHeat.

Adam Jones of Orix is the featured guest, John E. Gibson and Jim Allen break down a chat with him, take a look at the Buffaloes and their series against the SoftBank Hawks, discuss the Pacific and Central leagues, particularly the surprising Yakult Swallows, and handle some HighHeat.

NPB veteran Stefen Romero of Rakuten is the guest, John E. Gibson and Jim Allen break down his interview, talk about Eagles, take a brief look at the series in the Pacific and Central leagues this past week, discuss the Jay Jackson arrest and handle some HighHeat.