Kazuyoshi Tatsunami belted a two-run homer in the fourth inning Tuesday and Lee Jeong Bum followed with a solo blast in the fifth to pace the Chunichi Dragons to a 7-4 win over the Yokohama BayStars at the Nagoya Dome.

With the victory, the Dragons pulled to within 3 1/2 games of the Yomiuri Giants in the Central League standings.

Central League
  Won Lost Tied Pct. GB
Yomiuri 40 30 0 .571 -
Chunichi 35 32 0 .522 3.5
Yakult 32 31 1 .508 4.5
Hiroshima 35 34 1 .507 4.5
Yokohama 29 36 1 .446 8.5
Hanshin 30 38 1 .441 9.0
 
Pacific League
  Won Lost Tied Pct. GB
Daiei 38 30 2 .559 -
Seibu 36 29 3 .554 0.5
Orix 33 30 1 .524 2.5
Nippon Ham  37 35 1 .514 3.0
Kintetsu 30 39 1 .435 8.5
Lotte 29 40 1 .420 9.5

Chunichi starter Shigeki Noguchi (5-6) gave up a pair of runs and scattered nine hits over six-plus innings for the win and closer Eddie Gaillard retired the side in the ninth for his 13th save.

Carp 6, Tigers 5

At the Osaka Dome, Tomoaki Kanemoto went 3-for-5 at the plate and connected for a two-run homer in the top of the seventh inning to lift Hiroshima to a come-from-behind victory over Hanshin.

Micah Franklin, who joined the Tigers from Nippon Ham via trade last month, hit a solo homer in his CL debut.

Giants at Swallows -- ppd.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

Hawks 9, Marines 1

Nobuhiko Matsunaka, Koichiro Yoshinaga and Melvin Nieves all homered in a seven-run fifth inning to lead front-running Daiei to a drubbing of Lotte at Fukui Prefectural Stadium.

Daiei starter Junji Hoshino (1-2) gave up one run on six hits over the distance as the Hawks won their third straight to remain a half game ahead of the Seibu Lions in the PL standings.

Lions 4, Buffaloes 0

At the Seibu Dome, Yukihiro Nishizaki (4-0) tossed a three-hitter over six scoreless innings and Shinji Mori retired the side in the ninth for his 14th save as Seibu blanked Kintetsu.

BlueWave 6, Fighters 2

At the Tokyo Dome, 10-year veteran Nobuyuki Ebisu (1-0) gave up two runs on four hits over eight innings for his first victory as a professional as Orix downed Nippon Ham.

Warren commission

The Seibu Lions players committee has asked Pacific League President Kazuo Harano to take proper measures against Lotte Marines pitcher Brian Warren after the reliever made an obscene gesture to the Lions last Thursday.

After recording the final out in Thursday's 5-4 win over the Lions at Chiba Marine Stadium, Warren, who picked up his 12th save, turned toward the Seibu dugout and made an obscene gesture by raising his middle finger.

On Tuesday, Seibu manager Osamu Higashio claimed the Lotte closer was "doctoring" his pitches. His actions following Thursday's game appeared to be a reaction to the allegations.

After discovering a scuff mark the size of a 100 yen coin on a ball that Warren had just pitched, Higashio brought it to the attention of home plate umpire Ryozo Yamamoto in the 10th inning of Tuesday's 4-4 tie.

Furuta a wanted man

The head of Japanese amateur baseball reiterated his wish Tuesday to seek Yakult Swallows catcher Atsuya Furuta for the national team in September's Sydney Olympics. "If he isn't allowed to go to Sydney, things will be difficult for us," said Eiichiro Yamamoto, president of the Japan Amateur Baseball Federation (JABF). "So, I will continue to negotiate for his release." Furuta was one of the players on the Swallows' list of protected players.