Baseball: Murakami homers in 1st at-bat of season in Yakult’s win

Munetaka Murakami, a key member of Japan’s World Baseball Classic-winning team, hit a two-run homer in his first at-bat of the season, leading the Yakult Swallows to a 4-0 win over the Hiroshima Carp on Friday.

A day after Nippon Professional Baseball’s season began with the Nippon Ham Fighters’ game at their new ballpark, Es Con Field Hokkaido, against the Rakuten Eagles, the other 10 teams played their season openers.

Yakult’s Yasuhiro Ogawa (1-0) threw seven innings and combined with two relievers on a three-hit shutout. Murakami, the Central League’s Triple Crown winner last season, homere...