Benny Agbayani hit a two-run double and Jun Inoue followed with an RBI triple in the fourth inning Monday at Chiba Marine Stadium, as the first-place Chiba Lotte Marines and American manager Bobby Valentine won their fourth straight game with a 4-1 victory over the Nippon Ham Fighters and Trey Hillman.
South Korean slugger Lee Seung Yeop hit his second homer in as many days with a solo blast in the sixth before Shinji Takahashi pulled one back for the Fighters with a solo drive in the eighth.
Hiroyuki Kobayashi (1-0) picked up the win on an eight-strikeout effort in eight innings and Nippon Ham fell to its third straight loss.
Hawks 6, Buffaloes 4
At Osaka Dome, Hiroshi Shibahara led off the game with a homer and Julio Zuleta went deep with a towering three-run shot in a five-run opening frame as Daiei snapped its three-game losing skid with a victory over Kintetsu.
Lions 3, BlueWave 1
At Seibu Dome, Taiwanese pitcher Chang Chin-chia (1-1) struck out 10 and pitched a five-hitter over eight solid frames and Hiroshi Hirao slammed a solo homer off Trey Moore in the second inning to lead Seibu to its third win in a row with a victory over Orix.