George Arias blasted a pair of two run home runs and drove in five runs while Kei Igawa (11-3) picked up his ninth straight win, leading the Hanshin Tigers to an 8-4 victory over the Hiroshima Carp Tuesday at Muscat Stadium in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, the birth place of Hanshin manager Senichi Hoshino.

News photoHanshin's George Arias hits a two-run homer, his second of the game, in the fifth inning against the Hiroshima Carp.

The Tigers won seventh consecutive game and, combined with the Yomiuri Giants' 2-1 defeat to the Yakult Swallows, clinched the magic number to their first Central League pennant since 1985 at 49.