Takumi Kuriyama and Hiroyuki Nakajima drove in four runs apiece to lead a 12-hit onslaught against a shaky Yu Darvish in Seibu's 12-3 romp of Hokkaido Nippon Ham on Tuesday.
Darvish (0-1) was rocked for a career worst seven runs in seven innings. Hideaki Wakui (1-0) threw three-run ball over eight innings. Nakajima hit a three-run blast off Darvish in the seventh.
Buffaloes, 2, Hawks 2 (12)
Aarom Baldiris and Mitsutaka Goto hit solo homers in the eighth and ninth inning, respectively, and Tsuyoshi Wada failed to protect the lead as Orix played PL champion Softbank to a 12-inning tie.
Giants 9, Swallows 2
At Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Hisayoshi Chono hit a three-run drive to break open the game in the seventh inning, Shun Tono (1-0) won the decision in his first role as Opening Day pitcher and sloppy defensive play led to Yakult's defeat at UPR Stadium.
Tigers 7, Carp 4
At Koshien Stadium, Hanshin rallied in a three-run sixth inning, Atsushi Nomi (1-0) allowed three runs in 6? innings and Hanshin rallied to beat Hiroshima. Kenta Maeda (0-1) took the loss.
BayStars 5, Dragons 4
At Yokohama Stadium, Yuta Naito had a pinch-hit game-ending single in the ninth inning, for his career first walkoff hit as Yokohama edged the Chunichi.
In an effort to conserve electricity, Japan pro baseball is planning to hold some weekday games in the daytime in April due to the crisis facing the Tokyo Electric Power Co.