Nobuhiko Matsunaka hit a go-ahead, two-run homer and D.J. Houlton threw one-run ball over seven innings as the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks edged the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 2-1 on Saturday, ending their winning streak at nine games.
Matsunaka went deep to right off Yoshinori Tateyama (2-4) with two outs in the eighth inning, his second homer in as many days, at Sapporo Dome.
Houlton (8-4) allowed seven hits, including Terrmel Sledge's solo homer in the second. Takahiro Mahara picked up his Pacific League-leading 21st save.
Lions 6, Buffaloes 4
At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, Takeya Nakamura went 4-for-5 with a homer and five RBIs as Saitama Seibu rallied from a three-run deficit to beat Orix.
Marines 5, Eagles 4
At Chiba Marine Stadium, Kazuya Fukuura broke a 4-4 tie in the eighth inning with a pinch-hit RBI double as Chiba Lotte edged Tohoku Rakuten.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
Giants 4, Tigers 2
At Koshien Stadium, Seth Greisinger pitched two-run ball over 7 1/3 innings, leading Yomiuri in a win over Hanshin.
Greisinger (9-5) allowed four hits, struck out five and walked none for the Central-League leader. Satoru Kanemura (0-1), making his second start of the year, lasted just 2 1/3 innings.
Veteran slugger Michihiro Ogasawara had a sacrifice fly in the first and Yoshiyuki Kamei led off the second with an inside-the-park home run. Hayato Sakamoto added an RBI single the same inning before Kazunari Tsuruoka's run-scoring single in the sixth.
Swallows 4, Dragons 2
At Tokyo's Jingu Stadium, Jamie D'Antona hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth as Yakult came from behind, beating Chunichi for the second night in a row.
Carp 6, BayStars 3
At Mazda Stadium, Andy Phillips hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in a three-run eighth as Hiroshima beat Yokohama for its third win in four games.
