Chunichi Dragons vs Hanshin Tigers

The decisive blow came in the eighth. With Chunichi still nursing a 3-2 lead, manager 立浪和義 (Kazuyoshi Tatsunami) summoned reliever 橋本侑樹 (Yuki Hashimoto) — who had allowed a hit to Chikamoto leading off. Chikamoto then stole second. Morishita worked a walk, and Sato singled to load the bases for Sakamoto. The veteran catcher drove a 1-0 pitch over the left-field fence for a go-ahead two-run homer, his ninth of the season. The 36,660 fans at Vantelin Dome fell silent as the Tigers took a 4-3 lead.

坂本誠志郎 (Seishiro Sakamoto) — The Tigers catcher was the hero, delivering a 2-run homer in the eighth that proved the difference. His ninth home run of the year came at a critical moment with the bases juiced.

福永裕基 (Yuki Fukunaga) — Chunichi's second baseman continued his strong season, going 3-for-5 with a solo homer, an RBI and two runs scored. His leadoff blast showed the pop that has made him a valuable table-setter.

近本光司 (Koji Chikamoto) — The Hanshin leadoff man reached base four times on four hits in five at-bats, scored a run and stole a base. His constant presence on the basepaths kept pressure on the Chunichi defence all night.

金丸夢斗 (Yume Kanemaru) — The Chunichi rookie starter deserved a better fate. He tossed seven innings, allowing eight hits but only two earned runs while striking out eight and walking two on 113 pitches. He left with a 3-2 lead but was denied a win.

Hanshin out-hit Chunichi 14-10 but needed timely power to convert those baserunners into runs. The Tigers left 10 runners on base against Kanemaru alone, stranded by the rookie's ability to work out of jams — he struck out eight and induced weak contact when it mattered. Chunichi's two errors (山本泰寛 (Yasuhiro Yamamoto), ボスラー (Aristides Aquino)) didn't directly lead to runs but stretched innings and pushed pitch counts up.

坂本誠志郎's homer was the only home run in the game's final seven innings, and it turned a 3-2 nail-biter into a 4-3 lead the Tigers bullpen — ドリス (Rafael Dolis) and 工藤泰成 (Yasunari Kudo) — protected with a scoreless eighth and ninth.

The win kept Hanshin atop the Central League standings with a .569 winning percentage. Despite losing the previous two meetings to Chunichi at Kyocera Dome (3-2 and 7-1 on August 7-8), the Tigers showed resilience by rallying late. For Chunichi, the loss dropped them to 47-65-1 — still 15 games back — but Kanemaru's continued development as a frontline starter remains a bright spot.

A classic Central League grudge match that swung on one swing. Kanemaru outpitched Shimomura but got no support from the bullpen. Sakamoto's clutch homer was the kind of moment that defines a pennant race — and the Tigers are in one.