Soma Uchiyama, left, of the Yakult Swallows hits a grand slam off Shoki Murakami of the Hanshin Tigers during the second inning of an NPB game at Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture on July 11, 2025. (Kyodo)
NISHINOMIYA (Kyodo) — The Yakult Swallows held on to beat the Hanshin Tigers 6-3 on Friday, ending the Central League-leading club’s 11-game winning streak.
The Swallows, bottom of the CL, scored all their runs in the second inning at Koshien Stadium, where their six straight singles with two outs scored two runs before Soma Uchiyama slugged a grand slam to left off Shoki Murakami (8-3), who was taken off after the inning.
Swallows starter Peter Lambert (2-7), who plated their first run, allowed four singles and a walk to open the fourth as the Tigers scored two runs before getting three straight outs to end the inning.
He issued three straight walks to start the fifth, and Yusuke Oyama drove in his second run of the game with a sacrifice fly. But the former Colorado Rockies right-hander retired the next two batters and earned the win after giving up six hits and five walks over five innings.
In other action, Ryuhei Sotani (8-3) threw eight shutout innings as the Orix Buffaloes blanked the Nippon Ham Fighters 6-0 to end the Pacific League-leading club’s five-game winning run.
AloJapan.com