Kintetsu slugger Tuffy Rhodes hammered his 47th homer off Nippon Ham starter Naoyuki Tateishi in the sixth inning but the Buffaloes bowed to the Fighters 9-3 on Friday night at the Tokyo Dome.

Central League WonLostTiedPct.GB Yakult 63 40 5 .612 - Yomiuri 62 54 2 .534 7.5 Yokohama 51 55 3 .481 13.5 Hiroshima 49 53 6 .480 13.0 Chunichi 51 58 3 .468 15.0 Hanshin 47 63 1 .427 19.5 Pacific League WonLostTiedPct.GB Daiei 64 52 1 .552 - Kintetsu 63 52 2 .548 0.5 Seibu 61 56 0 .521 3.5 Orix 55 56 4 .495 6.5 Lotte 55 57 2 .491 7.0 Nippon Ham 44 69 3 .389 18.5

Kintetsu's winning streak ended at four.