Tanabata, the star festival, was celebrated in many places in Japan on Thursday. The day when people write their wishes on strips of colored paper and hang them from bamboo trees. This year, the wishes came true for a pair of new imports, some rookies, and in Sendai, where the festival has a long history, for a gang of oldsters.

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Swallows 11, Giants 3: At Tokyo Dome, the Giants deactivated shortstop Hayato Sakamoto for the third time this year, and Yakult’s batters hit pitch after pitch hard as the Swallows erupted for five first-inning runs off Matt Shoemaker (4-6), who left with two on and one out in the third but allowed no more runs.