Nobuhiko Matsunaka hit his Pacific League-leading 39th homer and Kazumi Saito won his 13th straight decision Tuesday night, leading the front-running Softbank Hawks to a 7-2 victory over the Orix Buffaloes.
Matsunaka connected off Jeremy Powell (11-10) for a two-run shot in the first inning and made it 3-0 in the third on an RBI single on a 3-for-4 night.
Saito (13-0) limited Orix to two unearned runs and four hits in eight innings, with five strikeouts and two walks.
Marines 8, Lions 4
At Invoice Seibu Dome, Shunsuke Watanabe (13-3) pitched 8 2/3 strong innings and Val Pascucci hit a key homer as Chiba Lotte extended its winning streak to four games.
Fighters 6, Eagles 2
At Tokyo Dome, Fernando Seguignol hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the first as Hokkaido Nippon Ham handed Tohoku Rakuten its seventh consecutive loss.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
Giants 4, Dragons 1
At Nagoya Dome, left-hander Hisanori Takahashi (7-6) pitched seven sharp innings to notch his fourth win in as many starts, lifting Yomiuri past Chunichi.
Carp 6, Swallows 3
At Hiroshima Stadium, Koichi Ogata and Koji Yamasaki hit back-to-back RBI hits off reliever Ryu Kawabata (2-5) as Hiroshima scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to hold off Yakult.
BayStars 1, Tigers 1 (12)
At Osaka Dome, Tatsuhiko Kinjo homered in the top of the fourth as Yokohama and Hanshin played to a tie after 12 innings.
Surgery for Kiyohara
Yomiuri Giants infielder Kazuhiro Kiyohara said Tuesday he will undergo endoscopic surgery on his injured left knee, which may sideline him for the rest of the season.
Kiyohara, who was removed from the active roster Saturday, said he has been told by manager Tsuneo Horiuchi and other Yomiuri coaching staff members to focus on recovering from the knee injury.