Kazuhiro Kiyohara homered for the second straight evening Friday and turned the game around as the Yomiuri Giants beat the Yakult Swallows 5-3 in the Central League and won three straight games for the first time this season.
The Hanshin bench looks
gloomy as the Tigers lose their third straight match on Friday.
The 6-5 loss to the Chunichi Dragons means the two teams
now share the lead in the Central League.
Kiyohara connected for a three-run homer off Masanori Ishikawa (2-1) with the Giants down 2-1 in the sixth inning at Jingu Stadium. Toshihisa Nishi reached on a double and Tomohiro Nioka drew a walk to put runners on second and third with two out, setting the stage for Kiyohara's heroics.