The Pacific League-leading Fukuoka Daiei Hawks fell to the Kintetsu Buffaloes 2-1 at the Fukuoka Dome on Friday for their second straight loss, but their magic number dropped to 11 games thanks to the Seibu Lions' 6-5 defeat against the Orix BlueWave.
| Central League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Yomiuri | 73 | 51 | 0 | .589 | - |
| Yokohama | 61 | 58 | 1 | .513 | 9.5 |
| Chunichi | 60 | 58 | 0 | .508 | 10.0 |
| Yakult | 55 | 58 | 1 | .487 | 12.5 |
| Hiroshima | 54 | 64 | 1 | .458 | 16.0 |
| Hanshin | 53 | 67 | 1 | .442 | 18.0 |
| Pacific League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Daiei | 66 | 53 | 2 | .555 | - |
| Seibu | 61 | 55 | 5 | .526 | 3.5 |
| Nippon Ham | 62 | 58 | 1 | .517 | 4.5 |
| Lotte | 54 | 60 | 5 | .474 | 9.5 |
| Orix | 54 | 61 | 3 | .470 | 10.0 |
| Kintetsu | 55 | 65 | 2 | .458 | 11.5 |
Daiei starter Kazumi Saito (4-2) held the Buffaloes to three hits over 7 1/3 innings, but reliever Shuji Yoshida gave up an RBI single to Tadatoki Maeda with two outs that broke a 1-1 tie.
Kintetsu starter Ken Kadokura (6-8) allowed three hits over seven innings before Isao Koda, Kazuya Shibata and Akinori Otsuka -- who got his 24th save -- combined for two hits the rest of the way. Kintetsu snapped an eight-game losing streak against Daiei and won its third straight.
BlueWave 6, Lions 5
Jiro Fujitate hit an RBI double off Seibu reliever Denny Tomori to break a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning, helping Orix edge the Lions at Kobe Green Stadium in a game repeatedly interrupted by rain.
Orix's Nobuyuki Ebisu gave up six hits and two runs in his fifth complete game this season and earned his seventh win.
Fighters 9, Marines 2
Toshihiro Noguchi hit a tie-breaking single and pinch hitter Yoshinori Ueda drove in two runs with a double to highlight Nippon Ham's seven-run third inning as the Fighters downed Lotte at Chiba Marine Stadium.
Nippon Ham starter Hiroyuki Sekine extended his winning streak against Lotte to nine games after giving up four hits and two runs over seven innings for his 10th win of the season, reaching the mark for the second consecutive year.