Shinnosuke Abe hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning Thursday as the Yomiuri Giants beat the Hanshin Tigers 4-1 to extend their unbeaten streak to six games.
Abe, who was hitless in his previous 13 at-bats, followed Hayato Sakamoto's bases-loaded sacrifice fly with a shot to right off reliever Kazuya Tsutsui at Tokyo Dome.
Yomiuri reliever Seiji Tahara earned his first career win with a perfect eighth. Kentaro Nishimura picked up his 18th save.
Jason Standridge (5-8) was charged with three runs in 7⅔ innings. Hanshin has lost six of its last seven games with a tie.
Hanshin had a quick 1-0 lead in the first when Shunsuke Fujikawa hit a sacrifice fly off Toshiya Sugiuchi, who allowed one unearned run and struck out 11 in seven innings of work.
Dragons 2, Carp 1
At Nagoya Dome, Kazuhiro Wada and Masahiko Morino hit back-to-back RBI singles in the fifth inning as Chunichi edged Hiroshima for its fifth straight victory.
Enyelbert Soto (1-0) held Hiroshima scoreless over five-plus innings. Rookie right-hander Yusuke Nomura (7-6) lost his third straight start.
Swallows 1, BayStars 0
At Jingu Stadium, Orlando Roman (7-7) threw his second consecutive shutout as Tokyo Yakult handed Yokohama its fifth loss in six games.
Kazuhiro Hatakeyama delivered a two-out RBI single in the first inning. Kentaro Takasaki (5-8) took the loss.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
Marines 5, Lions 4
At QVC Marine Field, Katsuya Kakunaka hit a go-ahead two-run double in a five-run third inning as Chiba Lotte rallied to beat Seibu.
Tomohisa Otani (2-5) allowed three runs in five innings for the win. Kazuhisa Makita (8-6) surrendered five runs on 10 hits in 5⅓ innings.
Eagles 7, Buffaloes 4
At Kleenex Stadium, Akihisa Makida broke open a one-run game with a two-run double in the seventh inning, leading Tohoku Rakuten over Orix.
