Luis Lopez hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning and followed with a two-run blast in the ninth to power the Hiroshima Carp to an 8-7 "sayonara" victory over the Yomiuri Giants at Hiroshima Stadium on Tuesday night.
| Central League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Yomiuri | 75 | 51 | 0 | .595 | - |
| Chunichi | 62 | 58 | 0 | .517 | 10.0 |
| Yokohama | 61 | 60 | 1 | .504 | 11.5 |
| Yakult | 55 | 60 | 1 | .478 | 14.5 |
| Hiroshima | 55 | 65 | 1 | .458 | 17.0 |
| Hanshin | 54 | 68 | 1 | .443 | 19.0 |
| Pacific League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Daiei | 67 | 54 | 2 | .554 | - |
| Seibu | 61 | 56 | 5 | .5213 | 4.0 |
| Nippon Ham | 63 | 58 | 1 | .5206 | 4.0 |
| Orix | 55 | 61 | 3 | .474 | 9.5 |
| Lotte | 54 | 61 | 5 | .470 | 10.0 |
| Kintetsu | 56 | 66 | 2 | .459 | 11.5 |
Lopez drove in seven runs altogether to erase an earlier grand slam by Kazuhiro Kiyohara as the Giants' magic number for clinching the Central League pennant remained at three.
Dragons 6, BayStars 1
Kazuki Inoue went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored and Leo Gomez hit a solo homer as Chunichi stopped Yokohama to ensure a winning record against Yokohama this season.
Swallows 12, Tigers 2
Roberto Petagine homered as Yakult pounded out 20 hits in a romp over last-place Hanshin at Koshien Stadium.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
Fighters 10, Buffaloes 4
Michihiro Ogasawara scored on a two-run homer by Sherman Obando in the first inning to set the league record for most runs scored in one season as Nippon Ham beat Kintetsu at the Tokyo Dome. He now has 120 runs.
Sayonara Banks
FUKUOKA (Kyodo) The Daiei Hawks have decided to release American outfielder Brian Banks, officials of the Pacific League announced Monday.
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