Rakuten 1, at Seibu 1

TOKOROZAWA, Japan (Interstat) — In a pitching duel for the ages that defied all pregame projections, the Saitama Seibu Lions and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles battled to a 1-1, 12-inning tie on Sunday afternoon and evening at Seibu Dome, a marathon defined by missed opportunities and stifling bullpen work. A crowd of 27,090 witnessed a contest that lasted 3 hours, 48 minutes but yielded only two runs on 10 combined hits, a stark contrast to the offensive output predicted by simulations and betting lines. The game’s narrative was written almost exclusively by the men on the mound, headlined by a… Read more...