SAPPORO — For one last time, the entire Sapporo Dome was shaking as the crowd was trying to give energy to the Hokkaido Nippon Fighters with perhaps their most symbolic way of cheering.

But Atsunori Inaba's tank was almost empty.

He looked on helplessly as a low-outside forkball by Yomiuri's Marc Kroon gave the closer his third strikeout of the game in the bottom of the ninth inning.