Masaki Saito threw a three-hitter over eight innings and hit a solo homer as the Yomiuri Giants rolled past the Yokohama BayStars 7-4 at the Tokyo Dome and cut their "magic number" for clinching the Central League pennant to four.
| 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 |
Daisuke Motoki keyed a four-run fourth inning with a two-run homer and Hideki Okajima helped Saito out of a jam in the ninth inning, when Yokohama rallied for three runs, as Yomiuri ended a six-game losing streak to Yokohama.
Dragons 3, Swallows 2
Melvin Bunch struck out nine over 7 1/3 innings and Kazuyoshi Tatsunami had a pair of RBIs to lead Chunichi over Yakult at the Nagoya Dome.
Bunch (12-8) allowed only four hits and walked none for his 12th win. Eddie Gaillard worked the ninth to collect his 31st save of the season.
Tigers 3, Carp 2
Tsuyoshi Shinjo drilled his 25th homer, a two-run shot, in the eighth inning as Hanshin came from behind to beat host Hiroshima.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
Fighters 4, Marines 1
Satoru Kanemura held Lotte to one run over six-plus innings to notch his eighth win as Nippon Ham beat Lotte at Chiba Marine Stadium.
Michihiro Ogasawara, who belted a two-run home run in the second inning off Lotte's rookie starter Naoyuki Shimizu, tied former Lotte Orions player Hiromitsu Ochiai for the Pacific League record of most runs scored in a season with 118.
Buffaloes 6, Hawks 0
At the Fukuoka Dome, Narciso Elvira (6-6) threw a five-hitter and struck out eight for his second complete game as Kintetsu won its fourth in a row and saddled league-leading Daiei with its third straight loss.
Lions at BlueWave -- ppd.