Veteran catcher Atsuya Furuta hit a solo homer in the fourth inning Wednesday and added a three-run blast in the seventh as the Yakult Swallows downed the Central League-leading Hanshin Tigers 7-3 at Jingu Stadium.
Nobuhiko Matsunaka of the Daiei Hawks
hits a two-run homer in the sixth inning at Fukuoka Dome.
Furuta tied the game in the fourth with his 15th homer of the season and Shinya Miyamoto drove in the winning run with a clutch single. Furuta's three-run homer in the seventh off Keiichi Yabu put the game out of reach.