25-04-2025
Baseball: Shota Morishita's 2-run bomb gives Tigers 4-2 win over BayStars
YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) -- Shota Morishita crushed a tie-breaking, two-run homer to give the Hanshin Tigers a 4-2 comeback win against the DeNA BayStars in Central League baseball on Thursday.
The go-ahead blast followed Koji Chikamato's double and Takumu Nakano's game-tying single as the Tigers rallied with two out in the top of the seventh inning at Yokohama Stadium.
Morishita went after his first pitch from right-hander Kohei Morihara (0-1), a fastball high in the zone, launching it several rows back into the stands behind left field.
"I'm willing to swing aggressively, that's my strength," Morishita said. "I told myself I couldn't be passive in that situation."
Shugo Maki broke the ice for the Japan Series champion BayStars in the bottom of the first with his RBI, which was immediately followed by Keita Sano's run-scoring double to make it 2-0.
Seishiro Sakamoto got the Tigers on the board with his RBI groundout in the second inning. Chikamoto finished 4-for-5, while reliever Yuta Iwasada (1-0) earned his first win of the season after a scoreless sixth inning for Hanshin.
