Eiji Ochiai made his first start in seven years and combined with three pitchers for a shutout as the first-place Chunichi Dragons blanked the Yokohama BayStars 3-0 in the Central League on Sunday at Yokohama Stadium.
Swallows 6, Carp 5
At Hiroshima Stadium, Shinichi Sato hit a two-run single off Shigeo Tamaki (0-2) to turn the game around in the seventh as Yakult edged the Carp.
Giants 8, Tigers 4
At Tokyo Dome, Yoshinobu Takahashi ignited a five-run rally in the eighth inning with a game-tying solo shot off Jeff Williams (2-4) as Yomiuri came from behind to beat Hanshin for its first victory in five games.
Orix to hire Ogi
KOBE (Kyodo) Orix BlueWave manager Haruki Ihara will leave his post and will be replaced by Akira Ogi in the middle of his contract prior to the team's scheduled merger with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes, Orix officials said Sunday.
Ihara, whose two-year contract will expire at the end of the 2005 season, met with Orix President Takashi Koizumi at Yahoo BB Stadium in Kobe and was officially notified of a plan to hire Ogi, former skipper of both Orix and Kintetsu, as manager of the merged team -- the Orix Buffaloes.
Ihara will meet with Orix BlueWave officials again on Tuesday to discuss his future, including the possibility of remaining with the Osaka-based new team with a new role at its front office.
Also, Orix general manager Katsuhiro Nakamura said the club will delay the announcement of players to be released considering a plan to hold the distribution draft involving Orix and Kintetsu players.
The draft plan is designed to give a new team an opportunity to be competitive in its first season and cover players who do not apply to the player protection rule.