The Hanshin Tigers are two games behind the Giants, who are in first place. They have been on a winning streak with their tenacious fighting style. Today, they took the lead against the Yakult Swallows.

Hanshin’s starting pitcher, Otake Kotaro, kept the opponent scoreless until the sixth inning.

With the score at 0-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Hanshin’s Morishita, followed by Oyama, hit consecutive hits to put runners on first and second with no outs. Yakult’s starting pitcher Yasuhiro Ogawa, who had been pitching well, was taken off the mound.

With Taguchi taking the mound as his replacement, Sato Teru hit a strong hit to short, and with the bases loaded and no outs, the up-and-coming batter Maekawa Ukyo hit a sacrifice fly to center field, finally breaking the deadlock and giving the Hanshin Tigers a one-point lead.

Sakamoto followed with a single to left field, loading the bases with one out, and then Ohyama made the most of a missed pitch by the catcher to score, making the score 2-0.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, with Chikamoto on second base, No. 3 Morishita hit a timely single to center field, making the score 3-0 and the Hanshin Tigers were in the lead.

The league leader, the Giants, won a comfortable victory over Chunichi today, while the Tigers are heading towards their long-awaited goal of defeating Allied…they are fighting a battle they cannot afford to lose.