SAPPORO — Yu Darvish and Tsuyoshi Shinjo had Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters fans worked up into a frenzy before the second game of the Japan Series had even started.
There was a whole lot more to cheer about once things really got going.
Darvish made his long-awaited return to the mound and Atsunori Inaba did the honors with a home run that ignited a four-run third inning as the Fighters beat the Yomiuri Giants 4-2 in Game 2 of the Japanese Fall Classic in front of 40,718 rabid fans on Sunday at Sapporo Dome.