Baseball: Murakami pitches Tigers past Lions as interleague opens

Hanshin Tigers rookie Shoki Murakami showed Pacific League hitters what he’s capable of Tuesday, throwing eight innings in the Central League leaders’ 3-1 win over the Seibu Lions on the opening night of interleague play.

Murakami (5-1) allowed a run on four hits and no walks while striking out nine at Saitama Prefecture’s Belluna Dome outside Tokyo.

“I wanted to give the team some momentum with my pitching in the first game,” Murakami said. “My control was good and I was able to do those things I need to do.”

The Tigers scored two runs in the first, opening the scoring on back-to-back triples...