Anyone who thought the Hanshin Tigers used all nine lives just to make it into the Central League Climax Series was mistaken.
They clearly have a few more left up their sleeves.
Hanshin took advantage of a pair of costly wild pitches, Ryutaro Umeno broke an eighth-inning tie with a sacrifice fly and 39-year-old reliever Kyuji Fujikawa worked the eighth and ninth innings as the Tigers edged the Yokohama BayStars 2-1 in the third and decisive game of the CLCS First Stage on Monday night at Yokohama Stadium.