Ryoji Aikawa hit a game-ending "sayonara" single deep to left field with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Yokohama BayStars edged the Yomiuri Giants 3-2 on Friday night at Yokohama Stadium.
| Central League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Yomiuri | 64 | 44 | 0 | .593 | - |
| Chunichi | 55 | 48 | 0 | .534 | 6.5 |
| Yokohama | 51 | 51 | 1 | .500 | 10.0 |
| Hiroshima | 49 | 56 | 1 | .467 | 13.5 |
| Hanshin | 48 | 58 | 1 | .453 | 15.0 |
| Yakult | 44 | 54 | 1 | .449 | 15.0 |
| Pacific League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Seibu | 58 | 44 | 3 | .569 | - |
| Daiei | 57 | 46 | 2 | .553 | 1.5 |
| Nippon Ham | 54 | 51 | 1 | .514 | 5.5 |
| Orix | 51 | 50 | 1 | .505 | 6.5 |
| Lotte | 45 | 57 | 3 | .441 | 13.0 |
| Kintetsu | 43 | 60 | 2 | .417 | 15.5 |
Yokohama reached the .500 mark for the first time since June 7 with its third straight win. Yomiuri, meanwhile, saw its CL lead cut to 6 1/2 games after second-placed Chunichi's win over Yakult.
Trailing 2-0, Yomiuri scored two runs to tie the game in the top of the eighth. But reliever Masumi Kuwata (5-8), who took the mound for the bottom of the frame, gave up four hits and walked two over 1 1/3 innings.
Dragons 5, Swallows 4 (10)
Leo Gomez hammered a tiebreaking solo homer, his 18th blast of the season, off Yakult reliever Tadashi Honma (1-2) in the top of the 10th inning, helping Chunichi hold off Yakult at Jingu Stadium.
Chunichi snapped its losing streak at two games while Yakult lost its third straight.
Tigers 3, Carp 2
Tomochika Tsuboi scored Shuta Tanaka from third with a game-ending sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning in Hanshin's "sayonara" win over Hiroshima at Koshien Stadium.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
Lions 10, Buffaloes 7
Taisei Takagi slugged a grand slam off Kintetsu starter Katsuhiko Maekawa in a seven-run fourth to highlight Seibu's victory over the Buffaloes at the Osaka Dome.
With the win, Seibu widened its PL lead over the idle Daiei Hawks to 1 1/2 games.