Brandon Laird became famous for his sushi-themed home run celebration, and the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters got to see it quite often. If the American slugger has his way, the next craze in Hokkaido will be the phrase "oshare" or "stylish."
Laird hit a tiebreaking three-run home run during an eventful sixth inning, Kohei Arihara had a solid day on the mound, and last season's Pacific League runners-up held off a late rally to beat the reigning PL champion Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 4-3 in front of an Sunday afternoon crowd of 32,554 at Tokyo Dome.
"I just wanted to try to get a big hit," Laird said. "I know Arihara was battling the entire game, so I was trying to give him runs."