Takashi Toritani went 3-for-5 and drove in three runs as the Central League-leading Hanshin Tigers beat the YokohamaBayStars 7-2 on Saturday.
Toritani broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth, driving in two runs with a two-out, bases-loaded double to deep right off Kazuki Mishima's first pitch, before he tripled in another in the eighth off Shuichiro Osada to hand the Tigers a commanding 6-2 lead at Kyocera Dome.
"We've been playing in a good frame of mind. We'll take each game at a time," said Toritani after helping Tigers starter Suguru Iwazaki (3-5) pick up his third straight win.