Tuesday brought Japan Series Game 3, a rematch of last year’s Game 2, when Keiji Takahashi threw his first career shutout to beat Hiroya Miyagi 2-0 at Tokyo Dome.

We also had a notable retirement and news that a pitcher, who within the span of five years was a big-ticket free agent, a league-leader in wins and a prominent posting to MLB, will not receive a contract offer for next season.

 

Let’s get to the game first.

Game 3

Swallows 7, Buffaloes 1: At Osaka Dome, Miyagi and Takahashi kept up a scoreless pitchers’ duel through four innings. Miyagi was one out away from escaping a jam after allowing scratch no-out singles and threw a fastball down broadway to Tetsuto Yamada, who had his first series hit, an infield single, in the third. The Swallows captain took a big bite out of the cookie and hit the facing of the second deck in left for a three-run homer, Yakult’s fifth of the series.