Munetaka Murakami drove in a pair of runs with a sacrifice fly and an RBI single during the Tokyo Yakult Swallows¡¯ win over the Hanshin Tigers at Jingu Stadium on Sunday night.
For a player of Murakami¡¯s stature, such a modest line is not normally cause for celebration. After a month of batting under .200, though, the slugger and Swallows fans will probably grab onto any hope they can at this point.
Murakami is off to a nightmarish start this season. Even after his performance against the Tigers to end the week, he is batting .157 ¡ª 61st out of the 63 qualified batters in NPB ¡ª after 25 games.
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