Kazuo Matsui went 3-for-3 and drove in four runs, including a solo homer in the four-run third inning, as the Seibu Lions triumphed over the Daiei Hawks 10-2 at the Seibu Dome on Friday night.

Central LeagueWonLostTiedPct.GBYakult 66 48 5 .579 -Yomiuri 67 58 2 .536 4.5Hiroshima 57 55 6 .509 8.0Chunichi 57 61 3 .483 11.0Yokohama 55 59 3 .482 11.0Hanshin 49 70 1 .412 19.5Pacific LeagueWonLostTiedPct.GBSeibu 71 58 0 .550 -Kintetsu 69 58 2 .543 1.0Daiei 68 59 1 .535 2.0Orix 61 61 4 .500 6.5Lotte 59 64 2 .480 9.0Nippon Ham 48 76 3 .387 20.5

The win, coupled with the Kintetsu Buffaloes' 9-3 loss to the Orix BlueWave, put Seibu on top spot of the Pacific League standings.

In the third inning, Matsui belted a solo homer, his 23rd of the season, and Ken Suzuki slugged a three-run roundtripper -- both off Daiei starter Kenichi Wakatabe.

BlueWave 9, Buffaloes 3

Outfielder Ikuro Katsuragi hammered two homers, a three-run shot in the six-run first inning and a solo blast in the fifth, to highlight Orix's win over Kintetsu at Green Stadium Kobe.

Kintetsu slugger Tuffy Rhodes, who is one home run short of tying the Japanese record for homers in a season, went 1-for-3 with two walks.

Kintetsu starter Hiroki Yamamura (7-6) was knocked out with no outs in the first after giving up six runs.

Fighters 5, Marines 2

Atsushi Kataoka hit a run-scoring single and Yukio Tanaka hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning as Nippon Ham snapped its losing streak at four games with a win over Lotte at the Tokyo Dome.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

Carp 4, Swallows 1

Tomoaki Kanemoto smashed a game-ending three-run homer off Yakult reliever Hirotsugu Maeda in the bottom of the ninth inning, carrying Hiroshima over Yakult at Hiroshima Stadium.

Kuroki finished

Lotte Mariners right-hander Tomohiro Kuroki, who is suffering from a shoulder injury, is expected to miss the rest of the season, Lotte manager Koji Yamamoto said Friday.

Kuroki, who made a 9-0 start to the season, is 11-4 with a 3.02 earned run average in 17 mound appearances.