Baseball: Takahashi pitches gem as Yakult edges Hanshin

Keiji Takahashi of the Yakult Swallows pitches against the Hanshin Tigers at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, western Japan, on April 8, 2025. (Kyodo)

NISHINOMIYA, Japan (Kyodo) — Keiji Takahashi threw eight shutout innings, outdueling Hiroto Saiki and leading the Yakult Swallows to a 1-0 win over the Hanshin Tigers on Tuesday.

Domingo Santana broke a scoreless tie in the eighth inning with a two-out RBI double down the right-field line at Koshien Stadium. Hanshin had its winning streak snapped at three games.

Takahashi (1-1) limited the Tigers to three hits, all singles, while striking out nine and walking three in a 119-pitch outing.

“I wanted to go deep into the game today since my previous start was short (four innings),” the 27-year-old left-hander said. “It’s our first game of the week, so I tried to give the team momentum by pitching aggressively.”

Hanshin right-hander Saiki (0-2) pitched eight innings of one-run ball.

Among Tuesday’s other games, the SoftBank Hawks ended the Orix Buffaloes’ winning streak at six with a 5-2 victory. The Nippon Ham Fighters downed the Rakuten Eagles by the same score.