Munetaka Murakami finally got the home run Tokyo Yakult Swallows fans had been waiting all night for in the top of the eighth inning.
For once, however, the Swallows’ prolific slugger was late to the party.
Yasutaka Shiomi hit a tiebreaking home run in the third inning, Jose Osuna connected in the fourth and the Swallows got off to a soaring start in their Japan Series rematch against the Orix Buffaloes with a 5-3 win in Game 1 at Jingu Stadium on Saturday night.