Tomonori Maeda drove home a pair of key runs and Hanshin Tigers players lived up to expectations from home fans, leading the Central League to a sweep of the two-game All-Star series with a 5-3 win over the Pacific League on Saturday.
Hanshin Tigers slugger Tomoaki Kanemoto hits a double off Softbank Hawks starter Toshiya Sugiuchi in the first inning of Saturday's All-Star game at Koshien Stadium. All-Central won 5-3.
Hiroshima Carp outfielder Maeda hit two RBI singles on 3-for-4 hitting and the Hanshin trio of Norihiro Akahoshi, Makoto Imaoka and Tomoaki Kanemoto, who occupied the top three spots in the CL lineup, ignited a three-run bottom of the first inning off Softbank Hawks lefty Toshiya Sugiuchi.
Akahoshi hit a leadoff single up the middle, stole second and scored on a single to center by Imaoka.