Takahiro Arai drove in three runs Thursday to lead the Hiroshima Carp to a 6-4 win over the Yokohama BayStars.

Arai hit a solo homer in the second inning at Hiroshima Stadium and then drove in a pair of runs in the third inning with a clutch single to left.

Kan Otake picked up the win after giving up four runs on seven hits over 7 2/3 innings as the Carp won their third straight game.

Takahiro Saeki homered for Yokohama, which lost its fourth straight.

Tigers 4, Swallows 2

At Koshien Stadium, catcher Akihiro Yano doubled in a pair of runs in a four-run fourth inning as Central League-leading Hanshin defeated Yakult for its fifth straight win.

With the victory, Hanshin opened a seven-game lead over idle Chunichi.

Fans like their Tigers

Outfielder Norihiro Akahoshi and five other players of the Central League-leading Hanshin Tigers were picked for the upcoming All-Star series as the final results of fan balloting were announced Thursday.

The Softbank Hawks and Lotte Marines saw a total of seven players selected by fans to the Pacific League squad for the two-game series on July 22-23, with Hawks catcher Kenji Jojima receiving the most votes in either league for the second straight year with 705,999.

Akahoshi, the leading vote-getter in the CL with 605,468, was joined by fellow-Hanshin outfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto on the CL team, while the Tigers dominated the infield with Atsushi Fujimoto at second base, Makoto Imaoka at third and Takashi Toritani at short.

Veteran Yakult Swallows catcher Atsuya Furuta was voted to the All-Star team for the first time in four years.

First baseman Kazuhiro Kiyohara made the All-Star team for the 18th time and was the only pick from the struggling Yomiuri Giants.