Baseball: Fighters' Koki Kitayama misses no-hitter in 9th inning vs Giants
The 26-year-old Kitayama (5-2) took a perfect game into the seventh inning at Tokyo Dome before issuing his only walk with two outs, and Takumi Oshiro ended a no-hit bid by ripping a 1-2 forkball for a solo home run to right with one out in the ninth.
"It was a precious experience. Not managing to achieve it means I'm still weak in some aspects, and I'll keep setting the bar high to eventually accomplish it one day," said Kitayama, who struck out five in a 122-pitch gem for the Pacific League-leading Fighters.
Giants starter Iori Yamasaki (6-2) had allowed one run over 17 innings in his past two starts but was roughed up early as Daigo Kamikawabata doubled in a run in the second before Ariel Martinez, Yua Tamiya and Chusei Mannami plated a run each in the third.
Kitayama, named the 2022 Opening Day starter despite being the Fighters' eighth-round draft pick just months earlier, said he will "keep giving my best to repay" the faith shown by skipper and former MLB player Tsuyoshi Shinjo.
In other action, Jon Duplantier (3-3) had a four-hit shutout, fanning 12 as the Central League-leading Hanshin Tigers beat the Lotte Marines 2-0.
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