Eduardo Perez cleared the bases with a double in Hanshin's four-run first inning Wednesday and the Tigers held on for a 4-2 win over the Chunichi Dragons.
Hanshin's first-inning fireworks at the Osaka Dome tagged Chunichi southpaw ace Shigeki Noguchi (8-1) with his first loss of the season in the Central League.
Although Noguchi and three Chunichi relievers allowed only three hits -- and none after the third inning -- the Dragons lost their fifth in a row. Shinji Taninaka (1-0), recently acquired from the Seibu Lions, scattered four hits over seven innings in his first start for Hanshin for the win as the Tigers recorded back-to-back wins for the first time in a month.