The reigning NPB champions started their title defense on Friday night at Tokyo Dome. Koyo Aoyagi took the mound for the Tigers as they faced the Yomiuri Giants led by ace Shosei Togo.
The first four innings were clean for both teams, though each had a chance to break the scoreless tie. In the top of the third with one out and runners on first and second, Shota Morishita slugged a ball to the right-center gap. A diving Takayuki Kajitani made the catch and doubled Nakano up at first base.
In the bottom of that same inning, Aoyagi loaded the bases up but struck Kajitani out to avoid giving up the game’s first run.
That was simply a delay of the inevitable, though, as Aoyagi started missing his spots in the fifth. A leadoff double was followed by a balk. One out later, the first run scored on a fielder’s choice as the throw home was not on time. After one more out, a Kajitani two-run home run sealed the Tigers’ fate.
From that point on, the team only managed two base runners: Morishita walked in the sixth, Chikamoto reached on an error in the seventh, and Ukyo Maegawa reached on a strikeout that went through the catcher’s wickets in the ninth. No hits after the third inning.
Oh, and the Giants added an insurance run in the eighth.