Tuffy Rhodes slammed his Japanese league-leading 48th homer of the year to lead Kintetsu's 19-hit barrage as the Buffaloes maintained second place in the PL standings by trouncing the Nippon Ham Fighters 13-3 at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday.
Central League WonLostTiedPct.GB Yakult 64 40 5 .615 - Yomiuri 62 55 2 .530 8.5 Yokohama 52 55 3 .486 13.5 Hiroshima 50 53 6 .485 13.5 Chunichi 51 59 3 .464 16.0 Hanshin 47 64 1 .423 20.5 Pacific League WonLostTiedPct.GB Daiei 65 52 1 .556 - Kintetsu 64 52 2 .552 0.5 Seibu 62 56 0 .525 3.5 Orix 55 57 4 .491 7.5 Lotte 55 58 2 .487 8.0 Nippon Ham 44 70 3 .386 19.5
With 22 games remaining, Rhodes is seven homers away from tying Sadaharu Oh's Japanese baseball record for most home runs in a season set in 1964.