Baseball: Murakami, Tigers crush Yamamoto in Japan Series opener

Hanshin Tigers rookie Shoki Murakami outpitched Orix Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, leading the Central League champs to an 8-0 Japan Series Game 1 victory Saturday.

Murakami allowed just two hits over seven innings at Kyocera Dome Osaka, where Game 2 will be played Sunday before the series moves on to Hanshin’s Koshien Stadium in neighboring Hyogo Prefecture for Tuesday for the next three games of the best-of-seven series.

Yamamoto, who has led the Pacific League in ERA, wins, strikeouts and winning percentage the past three years, and who may be pitching in his final games for the PL cham...