TOKOROZAWA, SAITAMA PREF. – Yudai Ono went the distance and Ryosuke Hirata hit a two-run home run in the eighth to lift the Chunichi Dragons past the Seibu Lions 4-2 on Saturday in the interleague action.
Ono (3-2) allowed two runs on five hits and four walks, striking out nine in a 145-pitch outing. The lefty missed almost two months with elbow discomfort but lost his first game back against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles a week ago.
Hirata drew two walks and flied out in his first three at-bats before he hit a one-out homer off Seibu reliever Hirotaka Koishi (0-1) for the decisive runs at Seibu Prince Dome.
“I’m happy as I’ve been away and was hoping to contribute to the team,” Ono said. “I thought it might be difficult to go the distance midway through the game but will power got me to the end.
“(Hirata) played despite not being fully fit and hit one for me. He really is a reliable captain.”
The southpaw surrendered a run in the third on a walk, a single and a Hideto Asamura sacrifice fly.
Seibu starter Yasuo Sano allowed Chunichi to tie it in similar fashion in the fourth, with Ricardo Nanita delivering the run with a sacrifice fly. Iori Katsura plated Naomichi Donoue with another sac fly in the top of the fifth, but a bases-loaded walk to Pacific League home run leader Ernesto Mejia in the bottom of the inning retied the game.
“I did give up a run with the walk, but I thought it’s more practical to walk him than surrender a home run,” Ono said.
Sano gave up two runs — one earned — on three hits, two walks and a hit batsman in five innings.
Marines 4, Swallows 2
At Chiba’s QVC Marine Field, Lotte’s Takuya Takahama cleared the bases with a one-out double in the fifth off Hirofumi Yamanaka (2-5).
Jason Standridge (3-5) held Yakult to two runs in 6-2/3 innings.
Tigers 3, Fighters 0
At Sapporo Dome, Randy Messenger (6-4) hurled seven innings and two relievers completed the four-hit shutout against Hokkaido Nippon Ham.
Hanshin snapped its five-game skid after Yamato Maeda hit a two-run double in the third off Mitsuo Yoshikawa (4-4) and the southpaw issued a bases-loaded walk in the sixth.
BayStars 7, Buffaloes 0
At Osaka’s Kyocera Dome, rookie Shota Imanaga (5-4) allowed three hits in six innings, and Toshiro Miyazaki hit a three-run shot in a five-run first off Orix’s Kazuki Kondo (2-2) as Yokohama returned to .500.
Eagles 2, Carp 1
At Sendai’s Kobo Stadium, Hiroshima’s Akitake Okada threw seven shutout innings, but reliever Bradin Hagens allowed RBI singles to Tohoku Rakuten’s Mitsutaka Goto and Ryo Hijirisawa in the eighth.
Hawks 8, Giants 3
At Fukuoka’s Yafuoku Dome, Seiichi Uchikawa hit a tie-breaking grand slam in the third off Yomiuri lefty Nobutaka Imamura (2-3) before going deep again with a solo shot in the seventh.
Fukuoka SoftBank recorded its fifth straight win.
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The Dragons' Yudai Ono pitches against the Lions on Saturday at Seibu Prince Dome. Chunichi defeated Seibu 4-2. | KYODO
