For the first time in 17 games, Yusuke Ohyama hit a ball over the fence. And all it took was dropping him down to seventh in the batting order. That was a huge key to victory, but so was Koyo Aoyagi’s outstanding outing, which has further cemented him as a true pillar in the rotation, and a worthy pick to the Olympic team. He threw eight shutout innings, never allowing anyone past second base, and limited the fearsome twosome of Yamada and Murakami to a bloop double and a walk. Two other things kept this game right in line with other matchups with the Swallows: Manager Akihiro Yano blew his fuse at the umps and the Swallows manager (second time in as many years), and the bottom of the ninth was a dramatic one (though Robert Suarez cleaned up Kosuke Baba’s mess).
