Hanshin Tigers Stage Stunning Comeback, Overcome 7-Run Deficit to Defeat Chunichi Dragons

(CNA, Hyogo, 21st, Comprehensive Foreign Report) Japan's professional baseball team, the Hanshin Tigers, staged a comeback show last night against the Chunichi Dragons. They tied a 7-run deficit by the end of the 8th inning and, in the bottom of the 9th, won 8-7 thanks to a walk-off solo home run by their number 3 batter, Shota Morishita. The Chunichi Dragons' manager rarely refused a post-game interview after the loss. According to "Nikkan Sports," the Chunichi Dragons scored 1 run in the top of the 1st, and their lineup performed well. Starting pitcher Kyle Muller even hit his first NPB home run, a 2-run shot, in the top of the 6th. By the end of the top of the 7th, the Chunichi Dragons led the Hanshin Tigers 7-0. Muller pitched six scoreless innings but was pulled in the bottom of the 7th after allowing two runs in a bases-loaded crisis. Afterward, Chunichi's relief pitchers failed to stop the Tigers' offense, allowing Hanshin to get on the board and score a total of 4 runs in the 7th inning. In the top of the 8th, although the Chunichi Dragons had a bases-loaded situation, they failed to score any runs. In the bottom of the 8th, Hanshin's number 4 batter Teruaki Sato and number 5 Yusuke Oyama hit consecutive singles, followed by a single from number 7 Nozomu Takatera, loading the bases with one out. Although the 8th batter flied out, the 9th batter, Seishiro Sakamoto, hit a single to left field with two outs and the bases loaded, bringing in a runner and closing the score to 6-7. The next batter, pinch-hitter Seiya Kinami, with two outs and runners on first and third, hit a single to center field, allowing the runner on third to score and tying the game at 7-7. In the crucial bottom of the 9th, Hanshin's number 3 batter Shota Morishita hit a walk-off solo home run off rookie Kenshin Makino, helping the Tigers defeat their opponent 8-7 and receive cheers from the entire crowd at Koshien Stadium. After this tense game, Chunichi Dragons manager Kazuki Inoue, in a rare move during his two years at the helm, refused a post-game interview for the first time. Inoue, with a regretful expression, squeezed out the words, "I'm sorry. I don't think I've ever refused a press conference, but today I really have nothing to say. I'm sorry, please understand." He left the stadium before 10 PM that night. (Compiler: Yang Wei-ching)