NAGOYA (Interstat) — Seiya Hosokawa homered twice and drove in four runs, powering the Chunichi Dragons past the Hiroshima Carp 8-5 on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in an evening game at Nagoya Dome. Hosokawa’s first home run was a three-run shot that swung the game in Chunichi’s favor, and his second was a solo drive that added to the Dragons’ lead. The Carp rallied late, but Chunichi pulled away with a two-run double in the eighth and closed the door in the ninth. The victory gave the Dragons a home win in the middle of a late-season series between the Central League rivals.

The game drew an announced attendance of 36,699 and took 2 hours, 52 minutes to complete. Chunichi improved to 58-76-2 on the season. Hiroshima fell to 53-73-4. The contest was played under the dome lights, with the Dragons scoring in five separate innings and the Carp answering in four. Chunichi entered the game after losses in two of its previous three games, including a 14-1 defeat at Yomiuri on Sept. 19.

Yudai Ohno earned the win for Chunichi, improving to 10-6. He pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and four earned runs with two walks and three strikeouts. Ohno worked around traffic in several innings and left with the lead intact. Shohei Mori took the loss for Hiroshima, dropping to 2-6. Shinya Matsuyama recorded his 30th save with a scoreless ninth, retiring all three batters he faced. Hiroto Mori also provided 2/3 of an inning of hitless relief with two strikeouts, Seiya Yoshida added a scoreless inning, and Matsuyama finished it off.

Hosokawa was the game’s top star for Chunichi. He finished 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs. His three-run homer in the third inning came after Hiroki Fukunaga and Kaito Muramatsu reached base, turning a one-run deficit into a 4-2 Chunichi lead. Hosokawa then added a solo homer in the fifth, giving him his second long ball of the night and continuing a strong recent stretch at the plate. He had entered the game with hits in two of his previous four games, including a home run and two RBIs at Hanshin on Sept. 14.

Chunichi’s offense collected 11 hits. Takaya Ishikawa homered in the second inning to tie the game. Asahi Hanada homered in the fourth. Fukunaga finished with a key two-run double in the eighth, a hit that broke open a one-run game and gave the Dragons breathing room. Yuta Ishii doubled, Miguel Sano singled, and Yuki Okabayashi also singled as part of the attack. Toshiki Abe drew a bases-loaded walk in the eighth before Fukunaga’s double. Kaito Muramatsu also singled and scored, while Ohno helped his own cause with a walk and a sacrifice bunt.

Hiroshima managed six hits against Chunichi pitching. Shota Suekane homered to right-center in the second inning to open the scoring. Tai Sasaki homered to left-center in the sixth. Elehuris Montero, batting as a pinch hitter, launched a two-run homer to left-center in the seventh that cut the Chunichi lead to 6-5. Keisuke Sato had two singles, Ryosuke Kikuchi doubled, and Shosei Nakamura drove in a run with a groundout. Shogo Sakakura walked, and Minoru Ohmori reached on an error, but Hiroshima could not string together enough hits against the Dragons’ bullpen.

The Carp bullpen kept the game close after the starter departed. Freddy Tarnok worked a scoreless inning with one walk. Seiya Akagi recorded one out without allowing a hit or an earned run. Takeru Sugita pitched a scoreless inning with one walk. Their efforts helped Hiroshima stay within striking distance until Chunichi’s eighth-inning rally. Hiroshima’s relief corps combined to keep the Dragons off the scoreboard in the sixth and seventh, giving the offense a chance to come back.

The Dragons broke through early and often. After Suekane’s homer gave Hiroshima a brief lead, Ishikawa answered in the bottom of the second. Hiroshima moved back ahead in the third on Nakamura’s RBI groundout, but Hosokawa’s three-run blast immediately changed the momentum. Hanada’s homer in the fourth and Hosokawa’s second homer in the fifth stretched the Chunichi advantage. Hiroshima clawed back with Sasaki’s solo shot and Montero’s pinch-hit two-run drive, but Fukunaga’s two-run double in the eighth restored a comfortable margin. The sequence marked the game’s decisive stretch, with Hosokawa’s first homer serving as the turning point.

Matsuyama then retired the side in order in the ninth to secure the win for Ohno and the Dragons. The teams are scheduled to meet again Monday at Nagoya Dome. Chunichi will look to carry the momentum into the next game of the series, while Hiroshima will try to rebound after a late rally fell short. The loss dropped the Carp further below .500, while the Dragons added a home victory in the evening matchup. Chunichi also improved its head-to-head record against Hiroshima in a season series that has been closely contested.

The Dragons had dropped two straight before Sunday, including a 2-0 loss at Yomiuri on Sept. 18 and a 14-1 loss at Yomiuri on Sept. 19. Hiroshima had won its previous game, 5-1 at Hanshin on Sept. 19, after dropping its two games before that. The Carp had also won two of three against Chunichi earlier in September, taking 5-2 and 5-1 decisions around a 5-4 loss. That recent history gave the matchup added significance as the season moved toward its final weeks.

Nagoya Dome’s crowd of 36,699 saw the Dragons take advantage of their 11 hits and four home runs. Chunichi scored in the second, third, fourth, fifth and eighth innings. Hiroshima scored in the second, third, sixth and seventh. The Carp’s early lead did not last, as Chunichi’s power bats produced runs in bunches. The Dragons’ bullpen then protected the lead over the final two innings, with Mori, Yoshida and Matsuyama combining for 2 2/3 hitless innings.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Hiroshima Toyo Carp 0, Chunichi Dragons 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Chunichi with a 55.7 percent probability to win. Chunichi had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 13 went under the over/under line of 6.5.