Yuma Mune Breaks Out of Japan Series Slump to Lead Orix Past Hanshin in Game 3

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Yuma Mune broke out of a slump and Kohei Azuma went five strong innings as the Orix Buffaloes beat the Hanshin Tigers 5-4 on Tuesday, October 31 to take a 2-1 lead after three games of the all-Kansai Japan Series.

Mune had gone hitless in the first two games at Kyocera Dome. But he came up big in Game 3 at Koshien Stadium to give the defending champion Buffaloes the upper hand in the best-of-seven series.

Hanshin took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Yusuke Oyama scored from third on an attempted double play where Seiya Kinami beat out the throw to first.

Buffaloes Tie It in the Fourth, Pull Ahead in the Fifth 

Yuma Tongu hit a solo shot into the center-field stands in the fourth to tie the game and Orix took a 2-1 lead in the fifth when Kotaro Kurebayashi scored from third on an infield grounder by Taishi Hirooka.

Later in the fifth, with runners on first and second and two outs, Mune worked the count full. He then drilled a fastball from Hanshin starter Masashi Ito into the gap in right-center for a double.

Both runners scored to give Orix a 4-1 lead.

"It was a tough at-bat but I just tried to be patient," Mune said. "I am happy to be able to contribute."

"Our batters did a great job of stringing together hits in that inning," Orix manager Satoshi Nakajima said.

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RELATED:

• Buffaloes Whip Tigers in Game 2 of the Japan Series
• Tigers Rough Up Buffaloes Ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto to Take Game 1 of the Japan Series
• In an All-Kansai Japan Series, Hanshin's Offense Faces a Stiff Test vs Orix's Superb Pitching

Author: Jim Armstrong

The author is a longtime journalist who has covered sports in Japan for over 25 years. You can find his articles on SportsLook.