The Lotte Marines were the big winners on Wednesday in their showdown with the Orix Buffaloes, and Thursday is set up for a doozy when Hiroya Miyagi and Roki Sasaki go head to head in Osaka.
The Chunichi Dragons gave a nice sendoff to pitcher Daisuke Yamai, who started against Yakult and even spotted them an out by striking out the leadoff hitter before walking into the sunset with tears in his eyes.
The Yakult Swallows left a mark on the Chunichi Dragons largely in part to yet another effective start from 41-year-old low-velocity lefty Masanori Ishikawa and seven RBIs from Tetsuto Yamada, but it didn’t help them gain ground in the CL pennant race after the Hanshin Tigers held off the third-place Giants thanks to a three-run double from 41-year-old Yoshio Itoi.
