Outfielder Shinichi Sato hit a game-tying solo homer in the sixth and followed with another solo blast in the seventh to lift the Yakult Swallows to a 5-3 victory over the Central League front-running Hiroshima Carp on Wednesday at Hiroshima Stadium.
Yakult starter Hirotoshi Ishii (1-0) gave up three runs on four hits over five innings for the win and Shingo Takatsu notched his seventh save as the Swallows won their sixth straight.
Giants 9, Dragons 4
Yomiuri slugger Kazuhiro Kiyohara belted his first homer of the season and four other Giants hit homers as Yomiuri scored all its runs on roundtrippers to down Chunichi at the Tokyo Dome.
BayStars 5, Tigers 0
At Koshien Stadium, Norihiro Komada belted a two-run homer in the second inning as Yokohama blanked Hanshin.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
Lions 10, Hawks 4
Infielder Kazuo Matsui sparked a six-run seventh inning with a two-run homer to left and Seibu snapped a three-game losing skid with a victory over Daiei at the Fukuoka Dome.
Marines 4, Buffaloes 2
In Chiba, Frank Bolick drove in a pair of runs with a bases-loaded single in the fifth inning as last-place Lotte downed Kintetsu for its fourth straight win.
BlueWave 7, Fighters 6
So Taguchi nailed a "sayonara" RBI single in the bottom of the ninth that lifted Orix over Nippon Ham at Kobe.
Battle deactivated
OSAKA -- The Hanshin Tigers, in the midst of a four-game losing streak, took infielder Howard Battle off their active roster, officials of the Central League team said Wednesday.
While pitcher Roberto Ramirez took Battle's place on the roster, the move is expected to clear the way for infielder Jason Hardtke to be promoted to the top team.