TOKYO —

Yakult Swallows left-hander Masanori Ishikawa was named the Central League monthly MVP on Wednesday for the period covering March through April. Ishikawa led the league with five wins to receive the accolade for the first time in his seven-year career. Hanshin Tigers infielder Takahiro Arai was named the CL monthly MVP in the category for position players after driving in 18 runs while batting .320.

The Pacific League, meanwhile, selected Nippon Ham Fighters Yu Darvish for his second monthly MVP award after the right-hander went 5-0 with two shutouts and 54 strikeouts. Rakuten Eagles infielder Takeshi Yamasaki took the honor for the third time after batting .374 with a .488 on-base percentage and a .667 slugging percentage—all league highs.

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