Tokyo Yakult Swallows ace Masanori Ishikawa allowed just a run in seven innings on Friday in a 3-1 win over the Hiroshima Carp, who lost their third straight game.
Ishikawa (2-1) gave up six hits, five of them singles, and a walk, while striking out eight — the 37-year-old lefty's highest total since June 2014.
Before 27,051 at Jingu Stadium, the Swallows got on the board against rookie Takuya Kato (1-2) in the second on a Yuhei Takai double and an Akihisa Nishida RBI single. Nishida walked and scored in the fourth on a single by Keiji Obiki.
Seiya Suzuki's leadoff homer in the fifth cut Yakult's lead to one, but Takahiro Araki's solo homer in the bottom of the inning completed the scoring.
"He (Ishikawa) just kept the ball low in the zone and pitched carefully, so we were unable to get the big hit we needed," Carp manager Koichi Ogata said.
Two Swallows relievers supplied a scoreless inning each, with side-armer Ryo Akiyoshi earning his second save as Yakult snapped a five-game losing streak.
Tigers 4, Giants 1
At Tokyo Dome, Kosuke Fukudome broke up Yomiuri's bid for a fourth straight shutout with a three-run, first-inning homer of Miles Mikolas (2-1) and Hanshin's Randy Messenger (3-0) allowed a run in eight innings to earn the win.
BayStars 2, Dragons 2 (12)
PACIFIC LEAGUE
Lions 9, Fighters 0
At Tokorozawa's MetLife Dome, Yusei Kikuchi (2-1) allowed a first-inning leadoff single, but none the rest of the way for his first shutout in four years.
Shogo Akiyama homered to open the first and added a solo shot in the sixth as Seibu handed last-place Hokkaido Nippon Ham its sixth straight loss.
Hawks 4, Eagles 3 (12)
