Jose Lopez, Yoshitomo Tsutsugo slug two homers apiece as BayStars crush Carp

YOKOHAMA - Jose Lopez and Yoshitomo Tsutsugo each homered twice as league play resumed on Friday in the Yokohama BayStars’ 13-3 whipping of the Hiroshima Carp.

Lopez, a longtime regular for the Seattle Mariners who is in his seventh season in Japan, opened the scoring with a first-inning solo shot off right-hander Daichi Osera (6-5). Lopez added a two-run shot, his 15th homer of the season, in the BayStars’ five-run seventh at Yokohama Stadium.

Tsutsugo tied it at 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth. He hit his 16th homer of the season in the seventh, when he and Lopez went deep in consecutive at-bats.

Yokohama’s Neftali Soto, who leads the CL in homers with 23, belted a three-run shot in the fifth that put the game on ice.

BayStars lefty Shota Imanaga (8-3) gave up three runs on two walks and five hits over five innings to earn the win.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

Buffaloes 4, Lions 0

At Tokorozawa’s MetLife Dome, right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto (4-3) threw his first career shutout, striking out 11 in Orix’s win over Seibu.

Marines 6, Eagles 5

At Sendai’s Rakuten Seimei Park, Tohoku Rakuten closer Yuki Matsui (1-3), pitching for the first time in six days, issued three two-out walks and gave up Ikuhiro Kiyota’s two-run single in a loss to Chiba Lotte.

Hawks 7, Fighters 5

At Sapporo Dome, Kodai Senga (8-2) allowed a run over six innings to outduel Kohei Arihara (8-4) as Fukuoka SoftBank topped Hokkaido Nippon Ham.

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