Lions leapfrog Hawks with win

FUKUOKA – Hiroyuki Nakajima hit a three-run homer off Kazumi Saito in a four-run fourth inning and the Seibu Lions went on to score five more runs against the Daiei Hawks in the fifth for a 12-2 victory Tuesday, claiming the top spot in the Pacific League standings for the first time since June 11.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (7-5) held the home team to a run and four hits in five innings while striking out six for the win. Matsuzaka, who was deactivated in late May due to a lower back pain, left the mound after complaining of a strain in his back.

Marines 2, BlueWave 0

At Chiba Marine Stadium, Naoyuki Shimizu outdueled Hidetaka Kawagoe and pitched his second complete game shutout this season, lifting Lotte to a victory over Orix.

Buffaloes 7, Fighters 4

At Sapporo Dome, Hisashi Iwakuma maintained his perfect record from Opening Day with his 12th win in 15 starts thanks to a 10-hit offense, including Mario Valdez and Hirotoshi Kitagawa who supported the right-hander with three RBIs apiece.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

Swallows 8, Dragons 3

At Nagoya Dome, Alex Ramirez had a team-high three RBIs on a pair of run-scoring singles as Yakult beat Chunichi in the opener of a final three-game series before the All-Star break.

Giants 6, BayStars 5

At Tokyo Dome, Yoshinobu Takahashi led off the eighth inning with a double and set the stage for a Hiroki Kokubo two-run homer off Takashi Saito (2-5) as Yomiuri overcame a 5-4 deficit to edge Yokohama.

Tigers 4, Carp 2

At Muscat Stadium, Tomoaki Kanemoto hit a three-run homer off Ken Takahashi (3-7) in the third inning after Norihiro Akahoshi and Kentaro Sekimoto reached on back-to-back singles, carrying Hanshin past Hiroshima.

Tanishige deactivated

NAGOYA (Kyodo) Chunichi Dragons catcher Motonobu Tanishige has been removed from the active roster due to a pain in his lower back and is ineligible to play until after the All-Star break, officials of the CL club said Tuesday.