OSAKA (Interstat) — Ryoji Kuribayashi allowed one run over 7 2/3 innings, and Shogo Sakakura drove in three runs as the Hiroshima Carp defeated the Hanshin Tigers 5-1 on Saturday evening, Sept. 19, 2026, at Osaka Dome. Kuribayashi, the winning pitcher, improved to 7-6. He allowed seven hits, walked one and struck out six. Hanshin starter Shoki Murakami took the loss after giving up four hits and one earned run over five innings with five strikeouts. He dropped to 10-9. Hiroshima improved to 53-72-4. Hanshin fell to 71-58-1. The game drew an announced attendance of 42,645 and lasted 3 hours, 3 minutes.

Hiroshima wasted little time taking the lead. Keisuke Sato hit a solo home run to center field with no outs in the first inning. Ryosuke Kikuchi followed with a popout to the catcher. Shosei Nakamura singled to shallow center, but Shogo Sakakura grounded out to third and Tai Sasaki grounded out to shortstop to end the inning. Hanshin responded in the bottom half. Koji Chikamoto and Takumu Nakano opened with singles. Shota Morishita flew out to right, and Nakano stole second to put runners on second and third. Teruaki Sato then lifted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Chikamoto. Kuribayashi got Yusuke Ohyama to ground out to shortstop to keep the game tied at 1.

Both pitchers found a rhythm after the first. Hiroshima went down in order in the second on a strikeout by Taiki Mochimaru, a flyout by Shota Suekane and a strikeout by Naru Katsuda. Kuribayashi then retired Hanshin in the bottom of the second, getting Masahiro Tateishi to ground out to shortstop before striking out Takahiro Kumagai and Seishiro Sakamoto. In the third, Kuribayashi flew out to second, Sato flew out to left and Kikuchi struck out. Hanshin’s Murakami struck out to begin the bottom of the third, Chikamoto grounded out to first and Nakano flew out to second. The Tigers managed only one hit over the second and third innings combined.

Hiroshima regained the lead in the fourth. Nakamura’s fly ball to left was misplayed, allowing him to reach base and advance to third. Sakakura followed with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Nakamura for a 2-1 advantage. Sasaki singled to shallow center, but he was caught stealing at second. Mochimaru struck out swinging to end the inning. Hanshin threatened briefly in the bottom of the fourth. Morishita grounded out to third and Teruaki Sato lined out to second. Ohyama singled to shallow center, but Tateishi grounded out to shortstop. Kuribayashi kept the Tigers from mounting a rally.

The Carp added an insurance run in the sixth. Kikuchi flew out to right and Nakamura flew out to left. Sakakura then singled to shortstop and moved into scoring position. Sasaki singled to shallow left, driving in Sakakura for a 3-1 lead. Mochimaru struck out swinging to end the inning. Hanshin could not answer in the bottom half. Nakano flew out to center, Morishita flew out to right and Teruaki Sato flew out to right. Kuribayashi retired the side in order and continued to protect the two-run cushion.

Hiroshima broke the game open in the eighth. Sato singled to shallow left, and Kikuchi walked. Nakamura moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Sakakura then singled to shallow right, scoring two runs and giving the Carp a 5-1 lead. Sasaki flew out to center, and Mochimaru flew out to center to end the inning. Sakakura finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Sato went 2-for-4 with a home run and one RBI. Sasaki also had two hits, going 2-for-4 with one RBI. Kuribayashi helped his own cause with a single in the fifth.

Kuribayashi was at his best in the middle innings. In the fifth, Kumagai doubled to the left-field line. Sakamoto sacrificed him to third, but Kuribayashi struck out Nozomu Takatera and got Chikamoto to fly out to left. In the seventh, Ohyama singled, but Kuribayashi struck out Tateishi, got Kumagai to pop out to first, walked Ukyo Maegawa, and struck out Hiroshi Toyoda. In the eighth, Chikamoto and Nakano singled to start the inning. Shota Morishita then grounded into a double play. Taichi Taka replaced Kuribayashi and got Teruaki Sato to ground out to the catcher to end the threat. Daisuke Moriura pitched a perfect ninth, striking out one.

Hanshin finished with seven hits but could not turn them into runs after the first inning. Chikamoto and Nakano each had two hits. Ohyama added two singles. Kumagai doubled. Teruaki Sato drove in the only run with his first-inning sacrifice fly. The Tigers left runners on base in the first, fifth, seventh and eighth innings. Their best late chance ended when Morishita grounded into the double play in the eighth. Hanshin’s bullpen kept the Carp close for a while. Anderson Severino, Ryosuke Jingu and Rito Kinoshita combined for three innings of relief, allowing two hits and no earned runs while striking out three. Severino struck out one, Jingu struck out one and Kinoshita struck out one.

The win gave Hiroshima a split of the first three games of the weekend series at Osaka Dome after the Carp lost the first two meetings. Hanshin won 2-1 on Friday and 7-2 on Thursday. Hiroshima had also lost five of its previous seven games before Saturday. The Carp are scheduled to visit the Chunichi Dragons on Sunday. Hanshin will host the Yokohama BayStars on Sunday. The Tigers remain in the playoff race despite the loss, while the Carp continue to play out the season’s final weeks.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Hiroshima 0, Hanshin 2. Interstat’s ELO system gave Hanshin a 67 percent probability to win. Hanshin had been installed as the pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 6 went over the over/under line of 4.5. The result defied those projections, as Kuribayashi and the Carp delivered the stronger performance on the mound and at the plate. Hiroshima’s five-run night came with eight hits, while Hanshin’s one-run night came with seven hits.