The Tigers got off to a good start, though the 3-0 score was a deceptive one – it could have (and should have) been much greater of a lead than that. And then, it vanished. Yuki Nishi walked a batter with two outs in the bottom of the third and came completely unraveled… single, home run, double, home run, walk, single. The first reliever out of the bullpen, Kosuke Baba, gave the Giants some insurance. Fortunately, Jefry Marte knows how to hit the ball at Tokyo Dome, and pulled the team to within one. In the ninth, once again Kento Itohara led the charge against their closer, drawing a walk on four bad pitches, and Jerry Sands produced his first clutch hit in what feels like ages. A really tight bottom of the ninth had fans’ hearts racing as Sakamoto doubled with one out, Okamoto hit one to center but not deep enough to score the runner, and with the bases loaded, Takumu Nakano saved the game with two outstanding plays. A tie is better than a loss, but with the Swallows continuing to play so well, the Tigers now find themselves a half-game back (but essentially 1.5 back when it comes to win percentage).
