Yuki Karakawa gave up just one run in his first complete game of the season, and Saburo Omura had a run-scoring single off Sho Iwasaki (2-1) in a 2-for-4 outing as Chiba Lotte beat defeated the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks 4-1 on Saturday..
Karakawa (2-1) gave up four hits, struck out five and walked none. He didn't allow a runner until a two-out single to Seiichi Uchikawa in the bottom of the seventh at Yahoo Dome.
Fighters 2, Eagles 1
At Sapporo Dome, Masaru Takeda (2-0) gave up one earned run in five-plus innings for his second win, and Hisashi Takeda picked up his third save with a scoreless ninth as Hokkaido Nippon Ham edged Tohoku Rakuten.
Terrmel Sledge whacked his third home run of the season in the fifth for the Fighters.
Buffaloes at Lions — ppd.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
Dragons 7, Tigers 4
At Koshien Stadium, Masahiko Morino hit a clutch two-run double to key a six-run first inning and Hirokazu Ibata chipped in with a pair of RBIs as Chunichi defeated Hanshin, ending its winless streak at six games.
Morino doubled to deep center off Jason Standridge (2-1), driving in runners from first and second for a 2-0 lead, and his teammates piled on four more runs batting around in the big inning
Rookie Shinji Tajima earned his first career win in relief of Dragons starter Yudai Kawai, yielding one unearned run in four-plus innings.
The Tigers saw their winning streak snapped at three games.
Swallows 10, Carp 1
At Ehime Prefecture's Matsuyama Stadium, Tokyo Yakult chased Ryan Bullington (1-2) after four innings, tagging the right-hander for six runs on nine hits and a walk as the Swallows beat Hiroshima.
Giants at BayStars — ppd.
