A 2-run squeeze?! This NPB team pulled it off

Bunting in Major League Baseball is certainly not as en vogue as it once was, even if the play is having a bit of a renaissance in 2026.

But in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, where small ball is much more common and offense more frequently takes an old-school approach, bunts can still be all the rage. Especially sacrifice bunts that result in two runs.

Yep -- you read that right. A two-run squeeze. And there was no error recorded on the play.

Nippon-Ham Fighters catcher Yuya Shintoh laid down the bunt with runners on second and third, rolling softly down the third-base line. The runner from third scored easily, as the Seibu Lions’ third baseman threw Shintoh out at first.

But the runner at second kept motoring around third without hesitation, sliding in safely at home to narrowly beat the relay from first base. Talk about a hustle play.

There have been several instances in MLB in recent years -- 17 in the Statcast era (2015) -- in which two runs scored after a plate appearance ended in a sacrifice bunt. But each time featured at least one error from the fielding team.

Led by manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo, the Fighters apparently have a knack for doing this, as the buzz on social media would show. Shinjo played three seasons in MLB with the Mets and Giants, producing nine sacrifice hits of his own.

This particular instance helped Nippon-Ham (Shohei Ohtani's former club) to a 7-1 victory over Seibu.