Jason Hardtke nailed a "sayonara" RBI single in the bottom of the 14th inning as the Hanshin Tigers blanked Chunichi 1-0 at Koshien Stadium on Tuesday, snapping the Dragons' winning streak at 10.
Nobuyuki Hoshino gave up two hits and struck out eight over nine scoreless innings. Minoru Kasai worked 2 2/3 innings for the win.
Dragons starter Melvin Bunch held the Tigers to three hits over 12 innings while fanning 11 batters in a no decision. Reliever Hitoki Iwase took the loss. Carp 2, Swallows 1Nathan Minchey scattered five hits over 6 2/3 innings and picked up his fourth win as Hiroshima beat Yakult with one hit at Fukuyama Stadium in Hiroshima Prefecture.
Giants 5, BayStars 3Akira Eto had two hits and two RBIs, including his ninth homer of the season, to help Yomiuri beat Yokohama at the Fukuoka Dome.
The Giants improved to 7-0 against the BayStars this season. Kimiyasu Kudo allowed 10 hits over 6 2/3 innings and struck out seven for the win.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
Fighters 16, BlueWave 2Sherman Obando and Yukio Tanaka hit two roundtrippers each as Nippon Ham romped past Orix in a seven-homer slugfest at the Tokyo Dome.
Marines 11, Buffaloes 3 Kiyoshi Hatsushiba drove in five runs as Lotte downed Kintetsu at the Osaka Dome.
Kiyohara injured
Yomiuri infielder Kazuhiro Kiyohara has re-injured his left thigh and was taken off the Giants active roster, officials of the Central League team said Wednesday.
Kiyohara, who originally suffered a torn muscle in a preseason exhibition game and missed the first 11 games of the season, experienced pain in his left thigh while running before Tuesday's game against the Yokohama BayStars at Fukuoka Dome.