Yusaku Iriki pitched 62/3 effective innings and Toshihisa Nishi and Kazuhiro Kiyohara chipped in with a pair of RBIs each as the Yomiuri Giants eased past the Hanshin Tigers 7-3 at Koshien Stadium on Sunday.
| Central League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Yomiuri | 30 | 19 | 1 | .612 | - |
| Yakult | 25 | 18 | 2 | .581 | 2.0 |
| Chunichi | 24 | 21 | 1 | .533 | 4.0 |
| Hiroshima | 21 | 21 | 3 | .500 | 5.5 |
| Hanshin | 18 | 28 | 0 | .391 | 10.5 |
| Yokohama | 16 | 27 | 1 | .372 | 11.0 |
| Pacific League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Daiei | 28 | 20 | 1 | .583 | - |
| Orix | 26 | 19 | 4 | .578 | 0.5 |
| Kintetsu | 26 | 23 | 2 | .531 | 2.5 |
| Lotte | 24 | 23 | 2 | .511 | 3.5 |
| Seibu | 25 | 25 | 0 | .500 | 4.0 |
| Nippon Ham | 14 | 33 | 3 | .298 | 13.5 |
Iriki (6-0) allowed two runs and scattered five hits with seven strikeouts and three walks in winning his sixth straight decision as the Giants became the first team in either league to reach 30 wins.
At the plate, Nishi sparked a four-run fifth inning with a two-run double and Kiyohara followed with a single to chase in two more runs.
Carp 4, Dragons 1
At the Nagoya Dome, Hiroshima erupted for four runs in the third inning and Masayuki Hasegawa and three relievers made it stand for a win over Chunichi.
Hasegawa (3-0) held Chunichi to one run on seven hits over 62/3 innings while striking out eight to help halt Hiroshima's three-game skid.
Eric Schullstrom pitched the ninth for his seventh save.
Swallows at BayStars -- ppd.