Nobuhiro Matsuda hit a solo homer and rookie left-hander Kenji Otonari threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings Saturday as the Softbank Hawks beat the Chiba Lotte Marines 4-1 to extend their winning streak to four games.
Baystars right fielder Seiichi Uchikawa leaps to grab a ball hit by Tokyo Yakult's Norichika Aoki at the
fence in the third inning at Jingu Stadium on Saturday. Yakult beat Yokohama 4-3.
KYODO PHOTOSoftbank took a 2-0 lead on Matsuda's shot over the center-field wall off Naoyuki Shimizu (4-9) in the second inning and a bases-loaded walk to Hidenori Tanoue in the third at Yahoo Dome.
A Saburo Omura RBI single pulled Lotte within a run in the top of the eighth, but Softbank scored two insurance runs in the bottom half on a Munenori Kawasaki RBI single to center fielder Daisuke Hayakawa, who mishandled the ball to allow another run to score.