Turns out a 2-10 start to the season didn't cost the Hanshin Tigers all nine lives after all.
The Tigers, who looked like an early candidate to be the worst team in NPB at the outset of this strange season, have gradually been turning things around since the calendar flipped to July.
Their resurgence continued last week at Koshien Stadium, where Hanshin took two of three against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and swept the Chunichi Dragons.