Terrmel Sledge had a two-run double and Shuichi Murata followed with an RBI double in a four-run fifth inning as the Yokohama BayStars broke open the game to rout the Chunichi Dragons 7-1 at Yokohama Stadium on Thursday.
Sledge hit his fourth homer in two days after hitting three a day earlier. Kentaro Takasaki (1-0) threw one-run ball over seven strong innings. Tony Blanco's homer was the sole run for Chunichi.
Carp 3, Tigers 1
At Koshien Stadium, newcomer Bryan Bullington (1-0) pitched eight scoreless innings, using his change-up effectively, en route to his first win in Japan.
Jun Hirose hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Takahiro Iwamoto added an RBI triple in the seventh at.
Shunsuke Fujikawa's run-scoring double in the ninth was too little, too late for Hanshin.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
Hawks 5, Buffaloes 3
At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, Yuichi Honda had a bases-clearing double to highlight a five-run second inning, Hiroki Yamada limited the damage to three runs in 7 innings and Fukuoka Softbank won its first game of the season.
Alfredo Figaro (0-1) took the loss in his Japan debut.