BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball

Giants and Swallows compete without familiar sights and sounds at ballpark

The Yomiuri Giants and Tokyo Yakult Swallows play a spring training game on Saturday without fans in the stands at Tokyo Dome. NPB teams are complying with government wishes to limit large gatherings to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. | JASON COSKREY

By Jason Coskrey
Staff Writer

Feb 29, 2020

The return of pro baseball to Tokyo Dome on Saturday night was greeted by a jarring silence.

There were no songs or chants to welcome the players to the plate nor the blaring of trumpets to provide the familiar soundtrack to the NPB experience.

Instead, it was a decidedly different feel at the ballpark as the defending Central League champion Yomiuri Giants faced the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in a Big Egg rendered completely devoid of fans by the coronavirus outbreak. The Swallows beat the Giants 5-3.

Giants and Swallows compete without familiar sights and sounds at ballpark

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