SoftBank 5, at Lotte 2

CHIBA, Japan (Interstat) — A pitchers’ duel for six innings gave way to a decisive offensive outburst by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, who scored five runs over the final two frames to defeat the Chiba Lotte Marines 5-2 on Saturday afternoon and evening at a sold-out Chiba Marine Stadium. A crowd of 27,774 watched as the Hawks (6-2) avenged a one-run loss to the Marines (4-4) from the previous night, relying on a stellar start from Haru Matsumoto and a clutch hit from Tatsuru Yanagimachi to seize control of the series. For the first six innings, the game was a… Read more...