Hidemitsu Saito, George Arias and Shinjiro Hiyama each drove in two runs and the Hanshin Tigers salvaged the last game of a three-game series against the Yomiuri Giants with a 11-4 win on Thursday.
The Tigers earned their first win in five games in a 29-hit slugfest while the Giants remained two games ahead of Hanshin in the Central League standings.
Arias ignited the Hanshin offense by driving in two runs with a single in the first inning before a sellout crowd of 50,000 at Koshien Stadium.
Saito hit his first career home run, a two-run shot off Yomiuri starter John Wasdin, in a four-run second inning that set the tone for the Tigers.
BayStars 4, Carp 1
At Yokohama Stadium, Hitoshi Taneda broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth inning with a run-scoring single and cleanup hitter Takahiro Saeki singled home another run as Yokohama sank Hiroshima for its first back-to-back wins this season.
Swallows 7, Dragons 6 (11)
Alex Ramirez blasted a two-run home run off Chunichi stopper Eddie Gaillard (0-1) to break a 5-5 tie in the top of the 11th inning, pacing Yakult over Chunichi at the Nagoya Dome.
Ryota Igarashi won his fifth decision of the season, while Shingo Takatsu earned 12th save.