Akinori Iwamura hit a tie-breaking solo homer off Masumi Kuwata to ignite a six-run fourth inning as the Yakult Swallows overcame a four-run deficit to beat the Yomiuri Giants 12-5 with an 18-hit attack Thursday at Tokyo's Jingu Stadium.
| Central League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Chunichi | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | - |
| Yakult | 3 | 2 | 0 | .600 | 0.5 |
| Yomiuri | 3 | 3 | 0 | .500 | 1.0 |
| Hanshin | 3 | 3 | 0 | .500 | 1.0 |
| Yokohama | 2 | 3 | 0 | .400 | 1.5 |
| Hiroshima | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | 2.0 |
| Pacific League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Lotte | 5 | 3 | 1 | .625 | - |
| Orix | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 0.5 |
| Kintetsu | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 1.0 |
| Seibu | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 1.0 |
| Nippon Ham | 4 | 5 | 1 | .444 | 1.5 |
| Daiei | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 2.0 |
Southpaw Kazuhisa Ishii (2-0) won his second straight start despite giving up five runs -- four earned -- and nine hits in seven innings, including a solo homer to Kazuhiro Kiyohara in the second.
Kuwata (0-1) lasted only 3-plus innings, allowing five runs and seven hits in his first start this season.
Dragons 4, BayStars 2
Kazuyoshi Tatsunami drove home the go-ahead run with a two-run double in an eighth-inning rally as Chunichi punished the BayStars bullpen in a victory at Yokohama Stadium to grab the Central League lead.
Kosuke Fukudome's RBI double tied the game 2-2 before Tatsunami hit his second double of the night to cap a three-run eighth after Chunichi struggled against Yokohama starter Kazuo Fukumori, who pitched one-hit ball over six scoreless innings.
Hitoki Iwase (2-0), who worked 11/3 innings in relief of starter Melvin Bunch, earned the win and Eddie Gaillard got his first save of the season. Atsushi Kizuka (0-1) took the loss.
Tigers 7, Carp 4
At Hiroshima Stadium, new import Ivan Cruz hit a pair of homers and Greg Hansell threw a two-hitter over five innings to lead Hanshin to a victory over the Carp.
Cruz opened the scoring for the visitors with his second homer of the season -- a two-run shot off Eric Ludwick (0-1) in the top of the first -- and added a solo blast in the seventh that made it 7-1.