The Nippon-Ham Fighters defeated the Chiba Lotte Marines 3-2 in extra innings, forcing game three in the first stage for tomorrow in the Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB).
The Fighters found themselves down 2-0 heading into the bottom of the 7th inning as Hisanori Yasuda and Katsuya Kakunaka knocked solo home runs into the seats for the Marines at Es Con Field.
However, Nippon-Ham would answer back with two late-game runs of their own. These came off an RBI from Ariel Martinez and a home run by the Fighters’ right fielder Chusei Mannami that ultimately tied the game in the bottom of the 9th inning and sent it into extras.
Then, in the bottom of the 10th inning, Nippon-Ham’s left fielder Daiki Asama walked the game off to give the Fighters a win and kept his team alive to see another day in the Climax Series.
The Nipponham #Fighters walk it off in the 10th to stay alive in the series!
— SportsLook (@SportsLookJP) October 13, 2024
A lot of credit should also go to the Fighters’ reliever, Sachiya Yamasaki. He pitched 3.0 innings, giving up no hits and no earned runs. Despite walking two batters, he kept Chiba Lotte level with Nippon-Ham to give his team a chance to force game three, which they did.
The Marines bullpen was not as dominant and efficient as in game one. Shota Suzuki, Naoya Masuda, and Hirokazu Sawamura pitched a combined 2.2 innings and two of the earned runs that led to the Fighters’ victory.
The two teams will meet tomorrow for game three to decide who moves on to the Pacific League final series to play against the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.
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WBN NPB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/japan/
Photo Credit: Outfielder Chusei Mannami #66 of Japan warms up prior to the Asia Professional Baseball Championship game between Australia and Japan at Tokyo Dome on November 18, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images)
