Hanshin Wins Dramatic Extra-Inning Game, Stays Top of League
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The Hanshin Tigers won a baseball game in a very exciting way. The game went to extra innings. This means the two teams were tied after nine innings, so they played more. In the 11th inning, a player named Ohyama Yusuke hit the ball. His hit won the game right away. This is called a walk-off win. It was Ohyama's fifth walk-off hit in his career. This is the second-most walk-off hits in his team's history.
This win was very important for the Tigers. It gave them their magic number of 10. A magic number tells a team how many more wins they need to win the pennant. The pennant is the prize for the best team in the season. The Tigers are now in first place. They are 0.5 games ahead of the Yomiuri Giants, the second-place team.
The other team, DeNA, lost the game. This was DeNA's second loss in a row. DeNA wants to reach the Climax Series. This is a special group of games after the regular season. DeNA has not been in this series for five years. After this loss, DeNA's win rate is back to 50 percent.
Vocabulary6 words
- extra innings
- more playing time added because the game is tied
- walk-off
- a hit that wins the game right away
- magic number
- the number of wins a team still needs to win first place
- pennant
- the prize for winning the league
- Climax Series
- special games played after the normal season
- win rate
- the percent of games a team has won
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Quiz
Answer key
1. 11th 2. 0.5 3. False
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Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
The Hanshin Tigers won a baseball game in a very exciting way. The game went to _____. This means the two teams were tied after nine innings, so they played more. In the 11th inning, a player named Ohyama Yusuke hit the ball. His hit won the game right away. This is called a _____ win. It was Ohyama's fifth walk-off hit in his career. This is the second-most walk-off hits in his team's history.
This win was very important for the Tigers. It gave them their _____ of 10. A magic number tells a team how many more wins they need to win the _____. The pennant is the prize for the best team in the season. The Tigers are now in first place. They are _____ games ahead of the Yomiuri Giants, the second-place team.
The other team, DeNA, lost the game. This was DeNA's second loss in a row. DeNA wants to reach the _____. This is a special group of games after the regular season. DeNA has not been in this series for _____ years. After this loss, DeNA's _____ is back to 50 percent.
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