Kenta Kurihara homered and drove in four runs as the Hiroshima Carp downed the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 5-2 on Friday at Jingu Stadium, extending their winning streak to four games.
Kurihara hit a three-run homer — his second in as many days — to put the Carp ahead 5-2 in the eighth inning. He also had an RBI single in the first. Mike Schultz (5-3) won in relief, while Katsuhiro Nagakawa pitched a perfect ninth for his 35th save.
Lee Hei Chun (1-1) took the loss for Yakult, which lost its third straight and sits one game behind the third-place Hanshin Tigers.
BayStars 1, Giants 0
At Tokyo Dome, Stephen Randolph threw a three-hitter en route to his first shutout in Japan and Shuichi Murata homered as Yokohama beat Yomiuri to snap its seven-game losing skid.
Randolph (5-2) struck out eight and walked six in his 149-pitch outing.
The left-hander outdueled Tetsuya Utsumi (9-11), who allowed five hits in his fifth complete game of the season.
Murata broke a scoreless tie with a solo homer in the seventh.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
Hawks at Eagles — ppd.
Giants honored
KYODO
Yomiuri Giants left-hander Tetsuya Utsumi and Giants catcher Shinnosuke Abe were named Friday as the Central League's best pitcher and position player, respectively, for the month of September.
From the Pacific League, Seibu Lions outfielder Takahiko G.G. Sato and left-hander Kazuyuki Hoashi took the accolade.
Hoashi and Utsumi won the awards for the first time in their ninth and sixth seasons.
Hoashi had four complete-game wins, including two shutouts, with a 0.50 ERA. Utsumi was 4-0 with one shutout and a 1.16 ERA.
Abe had homers in five consecutive games in early September and led the league with 12 home runs and 26 RBIs, while Sato batted a league-high .400.
