Masanori Ishikawa threw six solid innings and Yasushi Iihara went 3-for-4 with an RBI as the Yakult Swallows dropped the Hanshin Tigers back to a tie for the Central League lead with a 3-1 victory on Monday.

Ishikawa (12-10) tied a career high in wins after holding the Tigers to a run on five hits and lowering his ERA to 2.681, second in the CL to Hiroshima Carp right-hander Colby Lewis' 2.679. The league's title race, meanwhile, is heading into the final stretch with four games remaining for both Hanshin and the Yomiuri Giants.

Yakult went ahead 2-0 in the first inning on a Norichika Aoki RBI double and Iihara's run-scoring single at Jingu Stadium.