Daiei slugger Nobuhiko Matsunaka went 4-for-4 with five RBIs as the Hawks jumped on Seibu starter Daisuke Matsuzaka to beat the Lions 9-1 at the Fukuoka Dome on Saturday.
Central League | |||||
Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
Yakult | 28 | 19 | 2 | .596 | - |
Yomiuri | 31 | 23 | 1 | .574 | 0.5 |
Chunichi | 26 | 23 | 1 | .531 | 2.5 |
Hiroshima | 24 | 22 | 3 | .522 | 3.0 |
Yokohama | 19 | 29 | 1 | .396 | 9.0 |
Hanshin | 19 | 31 | 0 | .380 | 10.0 |
Pacific League | |||||
Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
Orix | 28 | 21 | 4 | .571 | - |
Daiei | 29 | 23 | 1 | .558 | 0.5 |
Lotte | 28 | 23 | 2 | .549 | 1.0 |
Kintetsu | 28 | 25 | 2 | .528 | 2.0 |
Seibu | 26 | 27 | 0 | .491 | 4.0 |
Nippon Ham | 16 | 36 | 3 | .308 | 13.5 |
Daiei took a 3-0 lead in the fourth on Pedro Valdes' solo blast and a two-run clout by Matsunaka.
Matsunaka connected for a two-run double in Daiei's four-run third inning, sending Matsuzaka (6-5) to the showers.
Hawks starter Brady Raggio held the Lions to one run over seven innings to remain unbeaten at 6-0.
Fighters 8, BlueWave 0
Rookie Hayato Nakamura tossed a complete-game shutout in his career first appearance to help Nippon Ham snap a three-game losing skid by trouncing Pacific League-leading Orix at Green Stadium Kobe.
The 26-year-old righty, Nippon Ham's fourth-round draft pick in 2000, scattered five hits and walked one. He struck out six batters.
Up 4-0 in the ninth, Yutaka Nakamura drilled a grand slam off Orix starter Shinichi Kato, who gave up seven runs on eight hits over 82/3 innings and fell to 6-2.
Marines 15, Buffaloes 3
Frank Bolick went 4-for-5 and Derrick May belted a two homer and drove home five RBIs as Lotte demolished Kintetsu at Akita Prefectural Stadium.
With the victory, the Marines extended their winning streak to seven games -- its longest in 16 years.
Lotte starter Nathan Minchey cruised to his seventh win, allowing two runs on eight hits over seven innings.
Kintetsu hurler Hiroki Yamamura (3-3) gave up three hits, including three-run homers to Bolick and May, and six runs over one-third of an inning and took the loss.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
BayStars 7, Tigers 2
Takeo Kawamura (1-0) combined with six relievers on a seven-hitter as Yokohama beat Hanshin at Koshien Stadium.
David Doster ripped a three-run homer and Anthony Sanders hit his first home run since joining the BayStars at the end of last month.
Swallows 6, Dragons 2
Satoshi Iriki went the distance for the first time in eight seasons for his fifth win as Yakult beat Chunichi at Chiba Marine Stadium to snap a four-game losing streak against the Dragons.
Iriki scattered four hits and walked none.
Akinori Iwamura swung the big bat, going 3-for-3 with four RBIs for the Swallows.
Kazuhiro Takeda fell to his sixth loss, allowing four runs over four innings.
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