Shota Takeda left Fukuoka Softbank Hawks fans singing in the rain in his Japan Series debut.
The young right-hander threw seven innings of one-run ball and relievers Ryota Igarashi and Dennis Sarfate carried the load the rest of the way as the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks pulled even in the Japan Series with a 2-1 victory over the Hanshin Tigers in front of a crowd of 45,259 on Sunday night at Koshien Stadium.
"We'd taken a loss (in Game 1), so we wanted to go home with at least one win here," Takeda said.