Roberto Petagine hit a two-run homer and Kenjiro Kawasaki pitched eight strong innings Friday to beat the Yomiuri Giants and Darrell May 3-2, ending the Central League leaders' five-game winning streak.
Daisuke Motoki homered leading off the game, but the Swallows quickly turned the tables on Petagine's 23rd homer of the season in the bottom of the first inning and then made it 3-1 on Satoshi Takahashi's solo homer in the fourth at Tokyo's Jingu Stadium.
| Central League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Yomiuri | 54 | 36 | 0 | .600 | - |
| Chunichi | 45 | 41 | 0 | .523 | 7.0 |
| Hiroshima | 42 | 45 | 1 | .483 | 10.5 |
| Yokohama | 40 | 45 | 1 | .471 | 11.5 |
| Yakult | 38 | 44 | 1 | .463 | 12.0 |
| Hanshin | 40 | 48 | 1 | .455 | 13.0 |
| Pacific League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Daiei | 48 | 38 | 2 | .558 | - |
| Seibu | 45 | 39 | 3 | .536 | 2.0 |
| Orix | 44 | 39 | 1 | .530 | 2.5 |
| Nippon Ham | 45 | 44 | 1 | .506 | 4.5 |
| Lotte | 39 | 47 | 3 | .453 | 9.0 |
| Kintetsu | 36 | 50 | 2 | .419 | 12.0 |
Kawasaki (7-9) picked up his fourth win against Yomiuri this season, allowing six hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
Dragons 10, BayStars 7
At Yokohama Stadium, Fumihiro Suzuki hit his first career homer with a three-run blast in the third inning and Lee Jeong Bum followed with a solo shot in the fourth to highlight Chunichi's victory over the 'Stars.
Tigers 10, Carp 0
At Hiroshima Stadium, Tetsuro Kawajiri (7-3) threw a five-hit shutout as Hanshin hammered the Carp with a 15-hit attack, including a two-run double by Takashi Yoshida that helped give the visitors a 5-0 lead after two innings.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
Lions 7, BlueWave 2
Seibu pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka got double-digit wins for the second straight year following his stellar rookie season, striking out 12 over the distance in a victory over Orix at Green Stadium Kobe.
With Seibu trailing 2-1 in the seventh inning, Taisei Takagi hit a two-out grand slam to make a winner of Matsuzaka (10-5), who held Orix to three hits -- all in a two-run second -- with two walks in a 132-pitch outing to win his fifth straight decision.
Buffaloes 3, Marines 3 (12)
Olympic warmups
The Japanese national baseball team will host Cuba and Taiwan in warmup games for next month's Sydney Olympics, officials of the Japan Amateur Baseball Federation said Friday.
Japan will play two games against two-time defending Olympic champion Cuba at Green Stadium Kobe on Sept. 1-2, followed by a meeting with non-qualifier Taiwan at the same venue on Sept. 3.
None of the eight professionals on Japan's 24-man roster will take part in the warmup series, which also features a joint team of Hanshin Tigers and Orix BlueWave minor leaguers for games with Taiwan and Cuba on Sept. 2-3.
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