Baseball: Shoki Murakami gets 14th win, Teruaki Sato 40th homer as Tigers cruise

Shoki Murakami, left, of the Hanshin Tigers reacts after striking out Munetaka Murakami of the Yakult Swallows during the first inning of an NPB game at Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture on Oct. 2, 2025. (Kyodo)

Teruaki Sato of the Hanshin Tigers hits a two-run home run during the fifth inning of an NPB game against Yakult Swallows at Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture on Oct. 2, 2025. (Kyodo)

NISHINOMIYA, Hyogo (Kyodo) — Shoki Murakami earned his 14th win to tie for the Central League lead and Teruaki Sato his 40th home run as champion Hanshin Tigers beat the Yakult Swallows 6-2 on Thursday.

Murakami (14-4) gave up two runs on five hits with no walks over seven innings at Koshien Stadium, fanning eight to reach 144 strikeouts, all but clinching three pitching titles together with the number of wins alongside the DeNA BayStars’ Katsuki Azuma and winning percentage.

Sato put the Tigers on the board with a sacrifice fly in the first for his 100th RBI this year before blasting his 40th homer, a two-run shot in the fifth for a 6-1 lead, nearing titles in both categories.

Swallows starter Koyo Aoyagi (0-2) gave up six runs on six hits and three walks over 4-1/3 innings.