Just before the Yomiuri Giants and Yokohama BayStars went into the bottom of the ninth tied 7-7 on March 26, the first night of the season, there was an announcement over the PA system at Tokyo Dome.
It was a reminder there would not be any extra innings played and that the contest wouldn't go past the ninth. It didn't really matter in the end, though, as Yoshiyuki Kamei belted a walk-off home run for the Giants a few minutes later.
The Giants and BayStars, however, did end up tying on March 28 after nine innings. Overall, there were eight tie games through the first 70 contests of the NPB season. It took a entire month to reach that many in 2020. As long as games are halted after nine innings, there will probably continue to be a few more draws than usual.
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