Yokohama BayStars vs Chunichi Dragons

Chunichi opened the scoring in the fourth. With two outs, centre-fielder Hanada crushed a solo home run to left-centre off DeNA starter Ogata, putting the Dragons ahead 1-0.

The Dragons doubled their lead in the sixth. Uebayashi walked and stole second, Hosokawa drew a walk, and Sano singled to load the bases. Ishikawa's sacrifice fly to centre brought Uebayashi home. Ogata left after 5.1 innings (5 H, 2 ER, 6 K, 2 BB) but his bullpen kept the deficit at two.

Meanwhile, Takahashi was untouchable. The Chunichi right-hander scattered one hit over seven scoreless innings, struck out eight and walked none on 100 pitches. DeNA's only baserunner through seven was a two-out walk to Tsutsugo in the seventh.

Sano led off the eighth with a single to centre and the Dragons turned to their bullpen, replacing Takahashi with Yoshida. What followed was a complete collapse.

• Ebina singled to left, putting runners on first and second.
• Hayashi sacrificed both runners into scoring position.
• Pinch-hitter Miyazaki walked to load the bases.
• Miyashita struck out swinging for the second out.
• Watarai Ryuki lined a two-run single to right, tying the game at 2-2.
• Maki Shugo followed with a two-run double to centre, scoring Watarai and Ebina for a 4-2 lead.

Baba (2-1) earned the win with a scoreless eighth, striking out two. Reynolds worked a clean ninth for his first save of the season. Yoshida (1-3) took the loss, charged with two earned runs without recording an out.

Hiroto Takahashi (Chunichi) — 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K. The starter was brilliant but got no support from his bullpen.

Maki Shugo (DeNA) — 1-for-4, game-winning two-run double in the eighth. His only hit of the night was the biggest.

Watarai Ryuki (DeNA) — 1-for-4, two-run single that tied the game. He delivered the first big blow in a four-run rally DeNA never relinquished.

Hanada (Chunichi) — 2-for-4, solo home run. The centre-fielder accounted for half of the Dragons' eight hits.

Maki Shugo (DeNA)

The final box score flatters Chunichi on paper. The Dragons out-hit DeNA 8-4 and got seven dominant innings from their starter, yet still lost. DeNA's four hits all came in the decisive eighth inning — a four-hit, four-run outburst that turned the game on its head. Chunichi's bullpen trio of Yoshida, Saito and Morihiro combined for 0.2 innings, 3 hits, 2 walks and 4 runs. Chunichi went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position against DeNA relievers after managing just one hit through the first seven innings.

DeNA improved to 51-58-3, solidifying third place in the Central League — 11.5 games behind leaders Hanshin. Chunichi dropped to 48-66-1, 16 games off the pace and anchored in fifth. The three-game series continues at Yokohama Stadium on Saturday, August 29, with first pitch at 18:00 JST (09:00 UTC).

A game Takahashi deserved to win turned into a stunning loss when Chunichi's bullpen could not protect a two-run lead in the eighth. DeNA produced just four hits all night — but every one of them came in the inning that mattered. Patience at the plate and two-out execution overcame seven innings of offensive silence.