Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
Yakult | 44 | 28 | 2 | .611 | - |
Yomiuri | 44 | 37 | 2 | .543 | 4.5 |
Hiroshima | 34 | 33 | 5 | .507 | 7.5 |
Chunichi | 37 | 40 | 2 | .481 | 9.5 |
Yokohama | 34 | 41 | 1 | .453 | 11.5 |
Hanshin | 32 | 46 | 0 | .410 | 15.0 |
Pacific League | |||||
Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
Kintetsu | 45 | 37 | 2 | .549 | - |
Daiei | 44 | 38 | 1 | .537 | 1.0 |
Orix | 41 | 37 | 4 | .526 | 2.0 |
Lotte | 40 | 39 | 2 | .5063 | 3.5 |
Seibu | 41 | 40 | 0 | .5061 | 3.5 |
Nippon Ham | 30 | 50 | 3 | .375 | 14.0 |
With the win, the Swallows tied the Giants in number of wins but took first place in the Central League standings with a better win percentage.
Yomiuri, which lost its fifth straight game, fell to second place in the CL for the first time since April 10.
With one out and one on in the first inning, Inaba, who went 3-for-5, drilled a two-run blast to put the Swallows ahead. Petagine and Furuta then hit consecutive solo blasts to widen the lead.