Takahiro Saeki singled home two runs to ignite a four-run first inning Monday as the Yokohama BayStars held on to beat the Central League champion Yakult Swallows 4-3.
Hirofumi Ogawa and Dave Doster also had RBI singles in the early onslaught at Yokohama Stadium, chasing rookie Manabu Hiramoto (0-1) who got only one out while allowing all four runs on four hits and three walks.
Daisuke Kanda (2-0) earned the win in his first start of the season, allowing just one run on a second-inning homer by Akinori Iwamura and two hits in five innings. Atsushi Kizuka worked 11/3 innings for the save.
Carp 7, Tigers 1
In Hiroshima, Eddy Diaz hit his 31st homer -- a three-run blast off Taiyo Fujita (0-1) in the third -- and Kenjiro Nomura followed with a two-run shot in the next frame as the Hiroshima Carp trounced the last-place Hanshin Tigers.
Southpaw Ken Takahashi (10-8) gave up just one run and scattered seven hits over eight effective innings to notch double-digit wins for the first time in his seven-year career. He struck out four and walked two.
Fujita (0-1), making his first career start, surrendered five runs on eight hits in four innings.