Matsuzaka hit hard but still gets victory

Pinch hitter Masahide Kaizuka hit a go-ahead RBI single in the Lions' three-run seventh inning at the Seibu Dome Thursday as Seibu came from behind to beat the Orix BlueWave 6-4 and climb into a first-place tie with the Daiei Hawks in the Pacific League standings.

Seibu starter Daisuke Matsuzaka (8-5) was rocked for four runs, three earned, over seven innings on nine hits but still got the win.

Shinji Mori worked the last two innings for his 15th save.

Marines 7, Hawks 2

Lotte slugger Frank Bolick smacked two homers and starter Shingo Ono pitched six-plus strong innings for his Pacific League-leading 10th win as Lotte beat Daiei at Chiba Marine Stadium.

Bolick connected for a three-run clout in the first inning off lefty Masahiro Doi (1-4), and cracked a two-run blast in the eighth.

Lotte scored two runs in the sixth inning on solo homers by Jeff Barry and Kiyoshi Hatsushiba.

Ono (10-1) scattered four hits and gave up two runs as Lotte won its third straight.

Fighters 6, Buffaloes 0

Akio Shimizu tossed a three-hitter to record the first shutout of his career lead Nippon Ham over Kintetsu at the Tokyo Dome.

Shimizu fanned 10 batters and walked four for his fourth win of the season.

Tatsuya Ide belted a three-run homer for the Fighters in the eighth inning off Kintetsu reliever Akira Okamoto.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

Giants 9, Tigers 2

Rookie lefty Hisanori Takahashi (6-3) gave up one earned run on seven hits over seven strong innings and picked up his first win in almost two months as CL-leading Yomiuri beat cellar-dwelling Hanshin at Koshien Stadium.

Hideki Matsui went 4-for-5 and Yoshinobu Takahashi had three RBIs for the Giants who racked up 17 hits off four Tigers' pitchers.

Shin Nakagomi (3-2) took the loss after giving up four earned runs on eight hits over 2 1/3 innings.

BayStars 11, Carp 0

Yokohama outhit Hiroshima 17-4 as they whitewashed the Carp at Yokohama Stadium.

Takuro Ishii, Tatsuhiko Kinjo and and Bobby Rose -- who hit a three-run blast in the eighth inning -- each had three hits for Yokohama.

Kazushi Hosomi (1-0) held Hiroshima to three hits over six innings in his career-first start and picked up the win.

Nathan Minchey (9-7) was tagged with the loss after giving up three runs on five hits over two innings.

Dragons 5, Swallows 3

Kosuke Fukudome nailed a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning off Kenjiro Kawasaki (6-9) and helped Chunichi over Yakult at Jingu Stadium.

Dragons starter Masahiro Yamamoto (6-4) allowed three earned runs on four hits over 5 1/3 innings for the win.

Closer Eddie Gaillard worked the ninth for his 19th save.

Furuta not going

The Yakult Swallows said Thursday that the Central League club will not send Atsuya Furuta to the Sydney Olympics, turning down a repeated request from amateur baseball officials for contributions from the veteran catcher.

Yakult President Itaru Taguchi said he conveyed the decision to the Japan Amateur Baseball Federation (JABF) earlier Thursday, four days before the JABF's scheduled announcement of the Japanese squad for the Sydney Games in September.

"We studied the feasibility of sending Mr. Furuta from various angles, only to reach this conclusion, because we had to give an answer at this time of the season," Taguchi told reporters.

Taguchi and other Swallows officials have said they cannot afford to lose a key player like Furuta in late September, when the pennant race normally heads into the final stretch, as long as they have a chance of winning the league championship.