This year's Nippon Series kicked off this weekend with two games in Osaka and they were both very memorable. Game One yesterday was one for the ages as Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Buffaloes and Yasunobu Okugawa of the Swallows faced off in a game that was scoreless through the first five innings. The Swallows pushed a run across in the top of the sixth but pinch hitter Steven Moya hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to tie it back up. Munetaka Murakami hit a two run home run in the top of the eighth to put the Swallows back in the lead but the Buffaloes rallied in the bottom of the ninth with two run game tying single by Yuma Mune and a game winning walk off double from Masataka Yoshida.
Today's game was another pitchers duel. Buffaloes starter Hiroya Miyagi was perfect through five before allowing a hit in the top of the sixth and eventually giving up a run in the eighth. The Swallows scored a second run off Orix's bullpen in the ninth. The Swallows starter Keiji Takahashi ended up throwing a complete game shutout for the 2-0 victory.
After splitting the first two games, the two teams will now head to Tokyo for the next three games on Tuesday through Thursday.
Here are cards of Yoshida and Takahashi:
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| 2017 BBM 1st Version #152 |
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| 2021 BBM Swallows #S23 |
Bonus card - Takahashi is married to former AKB48 singer Tomomi Itano who appeared on a "Ceremonial First Pitch" card from the 2017 BBM Fusion set (#FP16):
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