Tyrone Woods homered three times in a 4-for-4 outing with five RBIs Thursday to power the Chunichi Dragons to a 5-3 win over the Yomiuri Giants, keeping the defending Central League champions on top of the standings.
Woods, who was hitless in the first four games of the season, hit two game-tying homers -- a solo shot in the second inning and a two-run blast in the sixth -- before putting the Dragons ahead with another two-run homer two innings later at Tokyo Dome.
Dominican reliever Franklyn Gracesqui (1-0), who pitched the seventh and escaped a two-out bases-loaded jam he created from a hit and two walks, notched his first win in Japan.
Swallows 4, Tigers 1
At Jingu Stadium, Alex Ramirez sparked a three-run seventh with a solo home run as Yakult claimed its first victory in its fifth game of the season and snapped Hanshin's winning streak at three games.
BayStars 3, Carp 2
At Hiroshima Stadium, Katsuaki Furuki hit a game-tying two-run homer in the seventh and Takahiro Suzuki cracked a solo shot in the ninth as Yokohama came from behind to edge the Carp.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
Lions 8, Hawks 3
At Goodwill Dome, Jeff Liefer hit a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning to put the game out of reach as Seibu walloped Softbank in a come-from-behind victory.
Buffaloes 3, Marines 2
At Kyocera Dome, Greg LaRocca hit a go-head two-run home run in the eighth inning, helping to snap Orix's losing skid after three games with a win over Chiba Lotte.
Fighters 3, Eagles 1
At Fullcast Stadium, Satoru Kanemura went the distance in a complete-game effort, limiting the damage to one run and Fernando Seguignol homered in his third straight game, leading Hokkaido Nippon Ham over Tohoku Rakuten.