Tetsuya Shiozaki and Kiyoshi Toyoda combined on a five-hitter Sunday and the Seibu Lions rolled 10-1 over the Nippon Ham Fighters at the Seibu Dome.
Seibu infielder Ken Suzuki paced the Lions' 12-hit attack with a pair of singles and three RBIs while Corey Paul connected for a double and a triple to drive in two runs and score two more.
| Central League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| * Yomiuri | 78 | 57 | 0 | .578 | - |
| Chunichi | 70 | 64 | 0 | .522 | 7.5 |
| Yokohama | 67 | 66 | 1 | .504 | 10.0 |
| Yakult | 66 | 66 | 1 | .500 | 10.5 |
| Hiroshima | 63 | 70 | 1 | .474 | 14.0 |
| Hanshin | 57 | 78 | 1 | .422 | 21.0 |
| Pacific League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| * Daiei | 73 | 58 | 2 | .557 | - |
| Seibu | 68 | 60 | 5 | .531 | 3.5 |
| Nippon Ham | 69 | 65 | 1 | .515 | 5.5 |
| Orix | 61 | 65 | 4 | .484 | 9.5 |
| Lotte | 60 | 66 | 6 | .476 | 10.5 |
| Kintetsu | 58 | 75 | 2 | .436 | 16.0 |
Shiozaki (3-6) threw a two-hitter over six innings for the win while Toyoda worked the final three innings for his first pro save to give Seibu the season series with Nippon Ham 14-13.
The victory gave Seibu second place in the Pacific League standings while assigning Nippon Ham to third.
Marines 4, Buffaloes 2
At the Osaka Dome, Kazuya Fukuura and Frank Bolick came through with RBI singles in the ninth inning to lift Lotte over Kintetsu.
Tomohiro Kuroki (9-12) was steady over eight innings, allowing a pair of runs on six hits, while holding Sydney Olympic teammate Norihiro Nakamura hitless and denying the PL home run derby leader a 40th homer for the season.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
Dragons 6, Carp 1
Takeshi Yamasaki and Lee Jeong Bum hit two-run homers and Chunichi assured its self second place in the CL standings with its 70th win of the season.
Second-year southpaw Hitoki Iwase (10-5), used primarily in middle-relief situations during the season, scattered seven hits over seven innings and struck out six in his first pro start for the win.
Hiroshima, meanwhile, fell to its 70th loss of the season, and with two games remaining finished fifth in the CL standings for a third year in a row.