Hideki Irabu gave up two-run homers to Andy Sheets and Takahiro Arai and the front-running Hanshin Tigers dropped three games in a row for the first time this season in a 5-1 defeat to the Hiroshima Carp in a Central League thriller on Saturday.
The Tigers wasted a one-out, bases-loaded situation in the ninth when Tomoaki Kanemoto and Atsushi Kataoka struck out against Tom Davey. Irabu (11-4) was charged with five runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Carp starter Shinji Sasaoka (6-6) won his third straight decision after scattering three hits through six innings, and Davey followed with three shutout frames for his first save in Japan.
A capacity crowd of 32,000 showed up in Hiroshima for the first time this season. The game sold out on Saturday despite a typhoon, which caused three other games to be rained out.