Munetaka Murakami drove in a pair of runs with a sacrifice fly and an RBI single during the Tokyo Yakult Swallows’ win over the Hanshin Tigers at Jingu Stadium on Sunday night.
For a player of Murakami’s stature, such a modest line is not normally cause for celebration. After a month of batting under .200, though, the slugger and Swallows fans will probably grab onto any hope they can at this point.
Murakami is off to a nightmarish start this season. Even after his performance against the Tigers to end the week, he is batting .157 — 61st out of the 63 qualified batters in NPB — after 25 games.