Rookie Shota Imanaga won his fourth straight start as the Yokohama Baystars won their sixth straight and improved to .500 with a defeat of the Central League front-running Hiroshima Carp 3-1 on Saturday.

Before 28,916 at Yokohama stadium, Yoshitomo Tsutsugo hit a two-run homer in the fourth off Hiroshima starter Akitake Okada (0-2), who like Imanaga was his team's first-round draft pick last autumn. Imanaga (4-4), who earned his first career win against Hiroshima on May 6, allowed a run on six hits in 6⅔ innings. He walked two and struck out eight.

The lefty allowed a hit in each of his first four innings, but no runs until after two were down in the seventh. His throwing error gave the Carp a runner, who scored after hits by Tsubasa Aizawa and Ryuhei Matsuyama. Imanaga got the hook after issuing a walk to load the bases. Reliever Kota Suda, however, struck out Ryosuke Kikuchi looking to get out of the jam.