Hiroshima Carp vs Chunichi Dragons

Chunichi struck first on a solo home run by Orlando Sano in the top of the second off Hiroshima starter Tokoda — Sano's 16th of the season. He struck again in the third with a two-run shot (No. 17), also off Tokoda, giving the Dragons a 3–0 lead.

Hiroshima answered in the fourth. Ryoma Sakakura led off with a solo homer to left-centre off Chunichi starter Katsuki Ohno — Sakakura's 12th of the year — cutting the deficit to 3–2. The Carp then loaded the bases with two outs, but Kikuchi grounded out to second to strand them.

The score stayed 3–2 until the bottom of the seventh, when the Carp offence detonated.

The seventh-inning meltdown began when Chunichi's bullpen collapsed. Reliever Hashimoto — who took the loss — walked Nahara and hit Montero with a pitch after Fabian reached on a throwing error by shortstop Rodriguez. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Tatsumi laced a two-run double to left, putting Hiroshima ahead 4–3.

Kikuchi followed with a two-run homer to left (his 7th of the season) off Ito, making it 6–3. The floodgates opened: Sakakura added an RBI single, and later in the same frame, Nahara punched a two-run single through the right side. By the time the inning ended, Hiroshima had sent 12 men to the plate, scoring eight runs on six hits — the biggest single-inning output by any Carp team this season.

Hiroshima added an insurance run in the eighth on a sacrifice groundout by Sakakura that scored Ishihara, making it 11–3. Chunichi scratched across one run in the ninth on a pinch-hit single by Tsuchida, but the comeback was academic.

A total of six Chunichi pitchers combined to issue nine walks and hit one batter, with the bullpen charged with nine earned runs over just two innings of work.

Ryoma Sakakura (Hiroshima): 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, a sacrifice fly and 2 RBIs. Reached base in four of six plate appearances and scored twice. Player of the match.

Orlando Sano (Chunichi): 2-for-4, two home runs (Nos. 16 and 17), 3 RBIs. The Dragons' first baseman accounted for all of his team's early offence but was let down by his pitching staff.

Takahiro Kikuchi (Hiroshima): 2-for-5 including a seventh-inning two-run homer that sealed the comeback. Also added a double.

Katsuki Ohno (Chunichi starter): 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K on 115 pitches. Left with a 3–2 lead but was denied the win when the bullpen imploded.

The box score tells a story of control disparity. Hiroshima drew nine walks (plus one hit batter) against just five strikeouts, while Chunichi managed only two walks. Both teams committed one error. The Carp's 15 hits — a dozen against Chunichi relievers — came from nine different batters. Of Hiroshima's 11 runs, only 10 were earned, a reflection of Rodriguez's seventh-inning throwing error that extended the rally.

Chunichi's bullpen stats: 1 IP, 9 H, 9 R (8 ER), 5 BB, 1 HBP, 1 K. The Dragons threw 228 pitches to 50 batters in total.

The win improves Hiroshima's standing in the NPB Central League, while Chunichi — now with 62 losses on the season — remains anchored in fifth place with a 46–62–1 record. For a betting audience, Hiroshima's ability to draw walks and punish bullpen mistakes is a trend worth tracking; they have now scored 10+ runs in multiple games this season. Chunichi's relief ERA continues to be a significant liability.

Both teams return to Mazda Stadium on Wednesday 19 August for game two of this three-game series at 18:00 local time.