Tomoaki Kanemoto hit a solo homer in the fourth inning and Toyo Asayama had an RBI double in the sixth Wednesday as the Hiroshima Carp closed out the Central League season with a 2-1 victory over the Yakult Swallows.
| Central League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Yomiuri | 78 | 57 | 0 | .578 | - |
| Chunichi | 70 | 65 | 0 | .519 | 8.0 |
| Yokohama | 69 | 66 | 1 | .511 | 9.0 |
| Yakult | 66 | 69 | 1 | .489 | 12.0 |
| Hiroshima | 65 | 70 | 1 | .481 | 13.0 |
| Hanshin | 57 | 78 | 1 | .422 | 21.0 |
| Pacific League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Daiei | 73 | 60 | 2 | .549 | - |
| Seibu | 69 | 60 | 5 | .535 | 2.0 |
| Nippon Ham | 69 | 65 | 1 | .515 | 4.5 |
| Orix | 63 | 65 | 4 | .492 | 7.5 |
| Lotte | 60 | 67 | 6 | .472 | 10.0 |
| Kintetsu | 58 | 75 | 2 | .436 | 15.0 |
Kanemoto's 30th homer of the season placed him in the 30-30-.300 club as he became the seventh player in Japanese baseball history -- and the first since teammate Kenjiro Nomura turned the trick in 1995 -- to hit 30 homers, steal 30 bases and bat over .300 for the season.
Ryuji Yokoyama threw a four-hitter, striking out nine over the distance, for his first win. Yakult's Kazuhisa Ishii pitched 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief to claim the league's ERA title (2.60) over Chunichi's Masahiro Yamamoto.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
BlueWave 10, Hawks 6
In Kobe, Orix erupted for seven runs in the first inning and cruised to a win over league champion Daiei, which lost three in a row to conclude its regular season.