Yomiuri Giants vs Hiroshima Carp

The game remained scoreless through three innings as Hiroshima starter Shohei Mori and Yomiuri's Shinnosuke Ogasawara traded zeros. Ogasawara, making his first start of the series, worked efficiently but ran into trouble in the fourth.

Hiroshima broke through first in the top of the fourth. Ryan Fabian walked, Keita Sakaguchi singled and Akiyama loaded the bases with a single. Sasaki grounded into a fielder's choice that scored Fabian for a 1-0 lead.

Yomiuri answered immediately in the bottom half. Veteran shortstop Hayato Sakamoto crushed a 1-1 pitch from Mori deep to left-centre for a solo home run — his fifth of the season — knotting the game 1-1.

In the sixth, Hiroshima regained the lead. Fabian ripped a ground-rule double down the left-field line, Sakaguchi followed with a single, and Akiyama delivered an RBI single to make it 2-1.

Again the Giants replied. Riku Masuda, batting seventh, led off the bottom of the sixth by sending a 1-0 pitch from reliever Shun Okamoto over the left-field wall for a solo homer — his third of the year — tying the game 2-2.

The decisive moment came in the eighth. Hiroshima's Kikuchi drew a leadoff walk against Giants reliever Kenshin Hotta. Fabian followed with a single to centre, putting runners on the corners. After Sakakura flied out, Akiyama stepped to the plate and lifted a sacrifice fly to left — deep enough to score Kikuchi and give Hiroshima a 3-2 lead they would not relinquish.

Hiroshima's bullpen closed the door from there. Takashi Taichi worked a scoreless eighth, and Daisuke Moriura retired the side in the ninth, striking out Urata looking before getting Sasaki and Izumiguchi on groundout and flyout to seal the save.

Shogo Akiyama (Hiroshima) — 2-for-3 with 2 RBI, including the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth. The 38-year-old veteran delivered in every key spot, driving in runs in the fourth, sixth and eighth innings.

Hayato Sakamoto (Yomiuri) — 2-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run (No. 5). The 37-year-old Giants icon tied the game twice, first with his fourth-inning blast and later with a single in the seventh.

Riku Masuda (Yomiuri) — 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run (No. 3) that tied the game 2-2 in the sixth, his second homer in as many days against Hiroshima.

Takashi Taichi (Hiroshima) — 1 scoreless inning of relief, allowing one hit and striking out one to earn the win. combined with Moriura for the final six outs.

Daisuke Moriura (Hiroshima) — Pitched a perfect ninth with one strikeout for his 12th save of the season.

Both teams played error-free baseball. Hiroshima out-hit Yomiuri 9-8, with each side's runs coming exclusively via solo home runs and manufacturing. The Giants left seven runners on base — most painfully in the first inning, when they loaded the bases with two outs but Matsumoto grounded out to third. Hiroshima's bullpen (Okamoto, Endo, Takashi, Moriura) combined for 4 scoreless innings, allowing just 2 hits and striking out 3.

Ogasawara pitched 5 innings for the Giants, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts — a quality start that went unrewarded. Hiroshima starter Mori went 4 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits with 5 walks, but avoided serious damage by inducing weak contact when it mattered.

The Giants drop to 60-51-2, 2.5 games behind the Hanshin Tigers in the Central League after Hanshin's game later Sunday. The Carp improve to 44-60-4, still fifth in the six-team league but showing fight in a series where they split the first two games (win 5-0 on Friday, lost 5-4 on Saturday).

Yomiuri head to Meiji Jingu Stadium for a three-game series against the Yakult Swallows starting Tuesday 25 August. Hiroshima travel to Nagoya to face the Chunichi Dragons at Vantelin Dome on the same date.

A tight, well-pitched Central League game decided by one swing of small ball — Akiyama's sacrifice fly in the eighth. Yomiuri's solo homers kept them level but the inability to string hits together with runners on base proved costly. Hiroshima's bullpen, which had blown leads earlier in the series, held firm when it counted.