Lions shortstop Kazuo Matsui went 4-for-4 and hit for the cycle, helping Pacific League-leading Seibu beat the Kintetsu Buffaloes 10-4 at the Seibu Dome on Wednesday.
| Central League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Yomiuri | 28 | 24 | 0 | .538 | - |
| Chunichi | 27 | 24 | 0 | .529 | 0.5 |
| Hiroshima | 27 | 26 | 1 | .509 | 1.5 |
| Yakult | 23 | 23 | 1 | .500 | 2.0 |
| Yokohama | 23 | 23 | 1 | .500 | 2.0 |
| Hanshin | 21 | 29 | 1 | .420 | 6.0 |
| Pacific League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Orix | 27 | 20 | 0 | .574 | - |
| Seibu | 27 | 20 | 1 | .574 | - |
| Daiei | 26 | 25 | 1 | .510 | 3.0 |
| Nippon Ham | 27 | 26 | 1 | .509 | 3.0 |
| Kintetsu | 23 | 28 | 0 | .451 | 6.0 |
| Lotte | 20 | 31 | 1 | .392 | 9.0 |
Matsui belted a two-run homer in the first inning off Kintetsu starter Narciso Elvira (1-3) to start off his cycle. He drew a walk in his next at-bat in the third inning.
Matsui then connected for a single in the fourth inning and added a triple in the sixth before wrapping up the cycle with a double in the eighth inning, becoming the 51st player to achieve the feat in Japan.
BlueWave 6, Hawks 3
George Arias and Orlando Merced drove in two runs each as Orix kept its share of the PL lead with a victory over defending champ Daiei at Sendai Stadium.
Fighters 6, Marines 2
Hiroyuki Sekine struck out 10 batters over seven strong innings for his first win in over a month as Nippon Ham beat the Marines in Chiba.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
BayStars 16, Carp 9
The BayStars sent 17 batters to the plate in a 13-run fifth-inning outburst -- tying the Japanese pro baseball record for most runs scored in an inning -- en route to a win over Hiroshima at Yokohama Stadium.
The BayStars racked up 11 hits in the fifth -- the second highest number of hits ever in one inning in Japan pro baseball.
Yokohama starter Satoru Komiyama (6-2) got the win, despite allowing seven runs on 10 hits, including three home runs.
Giants 6, Tigers 1
Lefty Darrell May scattered four hits over seven strong innings while fanning 13 batters to help CL-leading Yomiuri past lowly Hanshin at the Tokyo Dome.
May got his fifth win as the Giants won their fourth straight against the Tigers.
Dragons 13, Swallows 7
Hitoshi Taneda hit a pair of home runs as Chunichi came from behind to beat Yakult in a six-homer slugfest at Jingu Stadium, remaining just half a game behind the Giants.
Nilsson back in Japan
NAGOYA (Kyodo) Chunichi Dragons outfielder David Nilsson returned to Japan on Tuesday after a break in Australia to recover from pain in his lower back.
"The pain in my lower back is mostly gone. I should be able to play soon," said Nilsson, who was sent down to the minors in late April.
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