The Tokyo Yakult Swallows might have had visions that the return of Munetaka Murakami, the team’s star slugger who may be MLB-bound in the offseason, would kickstart the slumping franchise, which has struggled mightily at the plate in the opening weeks of the NPB season.
Instead, Murakami’s 2025 debut after recovering from what the team called an upper body ailment lasted scarcely longer than four at-bats, and the last-place Swallows are arguably in a worse place than where they began.
The 25-year-old star was replaced in the middle of his fifth at-bat of the night against the Hanshin Tigers on Thursday at Jingu Stadium after what seemed to be a recurrence of the injury that sidelined him during spring training.
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