In the fifth inning of Friday’s game against Hiroshima, Tokyo Yakult Swallows player Souma Uchiyama made a great diving catch at second base. He threw the ball to first base for the out, but he immediately grabbed his left shoulder in pain. The 23-year-old suffered a dislocated left shoulder. This turned a 9-2 Yakult win into a big problem for the team.

“The play up until the catch was excellent, but his left shoulder popped out and then went back in,” Yakult manager Atsushi Ikeyama explained after the game. “Since the games continue tomorrow, I told them to take him out early and monitor the situation.”

The 23-year-old had been one of Yakult’s regular second basemen this season and was in the starting lineup again against Hiroshima. The injury came shortly after Uchiyama contributed offensively.

In the fourth inning, he lined an RBI double down the third-base line with runners on first and third, helping extend Yakult’s lead. An inning later, he made a diving stop on Taisei Omori’s ground ball, completed the throw to first for the out, and immediately grabbed his left shoulder. He remained on the ground briefly before returning to the dugout without any help.

Although Uchiyama stayed in the game for a short period, Yakult replaced him with Rui Ito after six innings. The update confirmed that the injury was a shoulder dislocation, with further evaluation expected.

The loss could be a big one for Yakult because of Uchiyama’s role in defense. Before the injury, he had appeared in 38 games this season and played 32 of them at second base.

He also turned 16 double plays while handling one of the team’s most demanding defensive positions. With another game scheduled immediately and no recovery timeline available, Yakult now faces questions about how it will replace those defensive plays if Uchiyama misses a big chunk of time.

However, there is some good injury news for another team in Japan.

Japanese baseball player returns to the lineup after leg injury

The Orix Buffaloes have started the league this week, sitting third in the Pacific League standings. They entered the weekend 5.5 games behind the league-leading Seibu Lions. While the standings remain the biggest concern, Kotaro Kurebayashi’s return offers some hope. The shortstop returned to the bench after missing two games with an injury.

Kurebayashi suffered a left leg injury against Hanshin on June 12.

He left that game after hitting his eighth home run of the season. The injury forced him to miss Orix’s final two interleague games. However, his recovery has moved well, and he faced Soya and Takashima during live batting practice.

“There are absolutely no problems with the condition of the injured area. It has healed completely,” Kurebayashi said before the game.

His return matters because Orix has relied heavily on his production this season.

Entering the restart, Kurebayashi led the team with eight home runs while batting .244. He has started regularly at shortstop and remained one of Orix’s most productive hitters. Sei Yokoyama started at shortstop on his return day, but Kurebayashi was available.

With Orix chasing Seibu in the standings, getting one of their top bats back is timely.