For the ninth time this season, the Tigers were in danger of dropping out of first place. And for the ninth time this season, the Tigers ended the night still on top. On this night, not only did the Swallows pulverize the Giants, but Teruaki Sato damaged a few balls pretty badly. His first plate appearance was a single that was just a few feet shy of clearing the wall at Tokyo Dome (would have been a grand slam). The next two, he made no mistake. He is now officially in the record books, as the second of those bombs tied him for the club record for most home runs by a rookie. That record for moon shots was established by catcher Koichi Tabuchi the year humanity landed a man on the moon. Just give it a few more days, Tigers fans. The outright owner of the record should be #8 soon enough. Big win over the Baystars and the team’s winning streak now sits at 3!
