TOKYO (Interstat) — In a stunning and abrupt reversal, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows remained undefeated, scoring two runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to walk off the Hiroshima Carp 2-1 on Thursday night at Meiji Jingu Stadium.

A crowd of 26,896 watched for two hours and fifty-seven minutes as the game unfolded as a classic pitcher’s duel before a chaotic final frame delivered the Swallows their fifth consecutive victory to open the 2026 Nippon Professional Baseball season. Hiroshima fell to 3-2.

For eight and a half innings, the story was dominant starting pitching and missed opportunities. Yakult’s Yasunobu Okugawa and Hiroshima’s Shun Okamoto traded zeroes through the first five frames. Okugawa ultimately went seven strong innings, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out five. His lone mistake came in the sixth.

Hiroshima’s Shogo Sakakura led off the top of the sixth with a double down the right-field line. After a flyout moved him to third, he scored on a two-out, shallow right-field single by Minoru Ohmori, providing the Carp with a 1-0 lead.

That slim advantage was preserved by Okamoto, who was brilliant over seven scoreless innings, scattering three hits and striking out four. He handed the ball to the bullpen, which initially held the line. Taylor Hearn worked a perfect eighth with two strikeouts.

Daisuke Moriura entered for the save in the ninth, tasked with protecting the one-run lead. He quickly recorded the first out. But Jose Osuna kept Yakult’s hopes alive with a sharp single to left. Pinch-runner Yoshihiro Akahane promptly stole second base. After a walk to Shu Masuda put the winning run on base, Moriura induced a ground ball from Yukihiro Iwata. The play resulted in a force out at second, leaving Swallows on the corners with two outs.

The game then turned on a single pitch. With runners now at first and third after a double steal, Yakult’s Ryui Itoh, hitless in three previous at-bats with two strikeouts, chopped a grounder toward third base. The ball took an awkward hop, skidding past the glove of Hiroshima third baseman Tai Sasaki and into left field. Both Akahane and Masuda raced home, triggering a celebration as the Swallows poured onto the field.

The walk-off hit made a winner of Yakult reliever Kengo Matsumoto, who threw two scoreless innings with four strikeouts to improve to 1-0. Moriura took the loss, his record falling to 1-1 after recording just two outs and allowing two runs on two hits.

The outcome defied pregame projections. Interstat’s game simulator had predicted a 7-4 Yakult victory, and its ELO system gave the Swallows a 57.80 percent probability to win. The teams also confounded the over/under line of 6.5, combining for only three total runs.

The victory completed a three-game series sweep for the Swallows over the Carp, following an 8-3 win Tuesday and a scoreless tie Wednesday. Yakult now turns its attention to a weekend series at home against the Chunichi Dragons beginning Friday. The reeling Carp, who have lost three straight since a 3-0 start, travel home to face the Hanshin Tigers on Friday, looking to halt their sudden slide.