Muranaka's control wavered back and forth from locked in to 'what the…?', but he had his fork and curve working reasonably well, so he stayed out of trouble for the most part. It was good to see him benefit from some bonafide run support. He seemed a little more relaxed than usual on the mound, and he went after guys a little bit for once.

Morino is hitting like a deity right now. Every time he swings, he makes contact. No whiffage whatsoever. He was thoroughly in control of all four of his at-bats, and of course he came up with three decent hits in the process.

If Takada stops messing with the lineup every day, I can see the birds faring quite well during interleague play–even if Ishikawa, Yoshinori, and Tateyama don't become more stable during that time.

I just hope the team can avoid injuries moving forward.