Tetsuro Kawajiri pitched a three-hitter with 10 strikeouts for his first complete game in two years as the Hanshin Tigers snapped the Yakult Swallows' unbeaten streak with a 4-1 victory in the Central League on Saturday.
Shinjiro Hiyama, Koji Hirashita and George Arias got things rolling with consecutive RBI hits in the first inning before Katsuhiko Yamada added an insurance run on an RBI groundout in the sixth at Koshien Stadium.
Sidearmer Kawajiri (4-3) kept the Swallows off-balance with a variety of off-speed pitches to earn his fourth win of the month, helping the Tigers end a five-game losing skid.
Giants 13, BayStars 2
At Yokohama Stadium, Tomohiro Nioka hit a grand slam and Koji Uehara went the distance on six-hit ball en route to his league-leading 16th win as front-running Yomiuri routed hapless Yokohama.
Dragons 7, Carp 1
At the Nagoya Dome, Yasuaki Taiho hit an RBI single to open the scoring and Koichi Sekikawa had a two-run double in a four-run second inning as Chunichi went on to beat Hiroshima.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
Buffaloes 7, Lions 5
At the Seibu Dome, Naoyuki Omura hit a two-run single with two outs and the bases loaded in a seventh-inning rally as Kintetsu ended Seibu's 10-game winning streak.
BlueWave 2, Fighters 0
At the Sapporo Dome, Yuki Tanaka pitched two-hit ball over 7 2/3 innings and Scott Sheldon and Kota Soejima hit RBI doubles, helping Orix snap its losing skid at 10 games.
Hawks 5, Marines 3
At Chiba Marine Stadium, Pedro Valdes broke a 1-1 tie with a solo homer and pinch-hitter Noriyoshi Omichi and Tadahito Iguchi followed with RBI singles in the sixth inning as Daiei held on to beat Lotte.
Matsuzaka injured
Seibu Lions right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka was taken off the active roster Saturday due to an injury to his right leg.