Kenta Asakura pitched his first complete-game shutout in four years with a five-hitter and Hirokazu Ibata and Tyrone Woods went deep as the Central League-leading Chunichi Dragons blanked the Yomiuri Giants 4-0 on Tuesday.
Fighters hurler Felix Diaz pitches against the Buffaloes at Sapporo Dome. Diaz notched his third win as Hokkaido Nippon Ham beat Orix 7-3 for its eighth straight win.
KYODO PHOTOAsakura (7-3) struck out four and walked two.
Yomiuri starter Hiroshi Kisanuki (0-3) took the loss after pitching 2 1/3 innings and reliever Takahiko Nomaguchi allowed both of the fifth-inning homers.
Tigers 4, BayStars 2
At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, Hanshin capitalized on the wildness of Yokohama left-hander Takumi Nasuno to score three runs in a fifth-inning rally on the way to its first win in three games.
Swallows 4, Carp 3
In Kurashiki, Norichika Aoki tied the game with an RBI double in the sixth inning and Ryuji Miyade singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh, lifting Tokyo Yakult to a victory over Hiroshima.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
Fighters 7, Buffaloes 3
Lions 10, Hawks 8
Marines 4, Eagles 3
Monthly MVPs named
Chunichi Dragons right-hander Mitsuru Sato and Yomiuri Giants infielder Lee Seung Yeop won the Central League's monthly MVP awards Tuesday, while the Pacific League selected Softbank Hawks infielder Nobuhiko Matsunaka, along with Seibu Lions right-hander Hideaki Wakui.