Overview
- The Tigers beat the Yakult Swallows 2-0 at Koshien in a game called after seven innings because of rain.
- The fourth-inning burst featured Shota Morishita's solo homer, Teruaki Sato's double, and Yusuke Oyama's RBI single.
- Right-hander Hidetoshi Ibaragi made his first professional start and worked six shutout innings for the win.
- Ibaragi escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth by striking out pinch-hitter Joe Miyamoto with a low changeup.
- The result underscores the champion core's steady production and presents Ibaragi as a rotation option after an early-season injury to Masashi Ito created a gap.