Lefty Katsuhiko Maekawa went 71/3 innings for his Pacific League-leading 10th win and Shawn Gilbert drilled two of Kintetsu's four home runs as the Buffaloes edged the Nippon Ham Fighters 7-5 at the Tokyo Dome on Monday.
| Pacific League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Kintetsu | 40 | 31 | 2 | .563 | - |
| Daiei | 38 | 31 | 1 | .551 | 1.0 |
| Orix | 34 | 32 | 4 | .515 | 3.5 |
| Lotte | 34 | 33 | 2 | .507 | 4.0 |
| Seibu | 35 | 35 | 0 | .500 | 4.5 |
| Nippon Ham | 25 | 44 | 3 | .362 | 14.0 |
With their fifth straight win, the Buffaloes claimed sole possession of the PL lead.
Maekawa (10-6) gave up five runs on four hits.
Fighters starter Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi (7-5) was tagged with the loss, allowing five runs on eight hits -- including two-run homers to Tetsuya Matoyama and Norihiro Nakamura.
BlueWave 11, Hawks 3
Shinichi Kato held Daiei to three runs -- two earned -- over 61/3 innings as Orix snapped its losing skid at four with a win over the Hawks at the Fukuoka Dome.
Lions 3, Marines 2
Hsu Ming-chieh tossed a three-hitter over 71/3 innings and picked up the win as Seibu edged Lotte at Chiba Marine Stadium.
Hsu walked seven but held the Marines to one run for his sixth win, sending Lotte to its fourth straight loss.
Scott McClain drilled a solo homer in the sixth off Marines hurler Yasuhiko Yabuta.