A quick note about the summaries: You'll notice that my summaries for the Fighters - Eagles and  Lions - Hawks games are in a completely different format. You'll also notice that the Fighters - Eagles and Lions - Hawks are written differently as well. I did this for two reasons. Time restraints and just too many runs scoring. If anyone has a preference, I'll try to stick to that format in the future, otherwise I'll probably just experiment a bit more.

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Giants lead series 13-4-1

Tetsuya Utsumi tossed a 7-hit, complete game shut-out against the Yakult Swallows.  Utsumi really only ran into trouble twice in the game and recorded four 1-2-3 innings.

On offense, the Giants provided Utsumi with plenty of support.

Yomiuri took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd on Shinnosuke Abe's (3-for-4, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI) 20th home run of the year.

In the bottom of the 6th, the Giants extended their lead by 3 runs: Michihiro Ogaswara (1-for-2, BB, R) led off with a single; Alex Rarmirez (2-for-4, R) reached on an infield single, runners on first and second; Yoshiyuki Kamei (0-for-2, BB, R) struck out; Abe drove in a run with an single, runners on first and third; pinch hitter Yoshitomo Tani (1-for-1, R, 2 RBI) made it 3-0 on a sac fly, and a bad throw home allowed Abe to advance to second; Ryota Wakiya (1-for-2, HBP, IBB, 2B, RBI) was intentionally walked, runners on first and second; Utsumi (1-for-4, RBI) drove in the game's 4th run with a single into center, runners on first and second; and Hayato Sakamoto (1-for-3, BB, RBI) lined out to short.

The final 3 runs the Giants scored came in the bottom of the 8th: Kamei walked to start the inning; Abe singled to put runners on first and second; Tani singled Kamei home, runners on first and second; Wakiya doubled home Abe, runners on second and third; Utsumi struck out; Sakamoto's sac fly made it 7-0, runner on third; and Tetsuya Matsumoto (0-for-4) grounded out to second.

It should be noted that Takehiko Oshimoto actually didn't do a horrible job starting in his first game since June 8th, 2005.

Missed Opportunities
Swallows
1st: runners on first and third, 1 out > D'Antona lined into double play
9th: runners on first and second, 2 out > Miyamoto flied out

Giants
1st: runners on first and second, 1 out > Ramirez GIDP
4th: runner on second, 1 out > Abe grounded out, runner to third, Furuki struck out
5th: runner no third, no out > Utsumi grounded out, Sakamoto lined out, and Matsumoto flied out
6th: runners on first and second, 2 out > Sakamoto lined out
8th: runner on third, 2 out > Matsumoto grounded out

Game Notes
The Giants outhit the Swallows, 10-7. ... Takehiko Oshimoto made his first start since June 2005.  He was with the Fighters then. ... Abe became the first Giants' catcher to hit 20 homers in three consecutive seasons. ... Utsumi picks up his first complete game shut-out since June 16, 2008.

Swallows: 6 LOB, 1 DP
Giants: 7 LOB, 1 DP

Yakult Swallows

Yomiuri Giants

Tokyo Dome
Attendance: 43,968
Time: 2h 48m

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Dragons lead series 15-4

If not for a mix-up in the starting line-up card, perhaps Stephen Randolph tosses a 2-hit complete game shut-out; instead, he shares the shut out with Ryan Glynn.  Regardless, Randolph was dominant, striking out 15 batters over 8.2 innings of work -- he struck out at least one batter every inning and once struck out 4 consecutive batters between the 2nd and 3rd innings.  He also gave up 2 hits (a double and a single) and three walks.

Dragons starter Takashi Ogasawara also pitched well, save for one bad pitch in the bottom of the first that resulted in a 2-run home run off the bat of Shigeru Morikasa (1-for-3, BB, HR, R, 2 RBI).  But other than that, the Bay Stars didn't have much success off Ogawasara.

Incidentally, the Bay Stars did manage to load the bases in the bottom of the 8th, but that was after Ogasawara was relieved by Akifumi Takahashi to start the inning.

Missed Opportunities
Dragons
2nd: runners on second and third, no out > Koike struck out, Hidenori struck out, and Oyama struck out
4th: runners on first and second, no out > Koike failed sac bunt, Hidenori struck out, and Oyama flied out

Bay Stars
7th: runner on second, 1 out > Kinjo flied out and Takeyama grounded out
8th: bases loaded, 2 out > Saeki flied out

Game Notes
The Bay Stars outhit the Dragons, 4-2. ... The Dragons are on a 4-game losing streak. ... Stephen Randolph was one strike out away from tying the Central League record for most strike outs in a game (16). ... Do to a mix-up in filling out the starting line-ups, Ryan Glynn started the game instead of Randolph.  Glynn faced on batter and then Randolph took over.  Yuji Yoshimi was also in the line-up, but apparently as a decoy.

Dragons: 6 LOB, 0 DP
Bay Stars: 6 LOB, 0 DP

Chunichi Dragons

Yokohama Bay Stars

Niigata
Attendance: 21,827
Time: 2h 51m

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Tigers lead series 10-9

The Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the top of the 4th when Takahiro Arai (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI) hit a bases clearing double off Yuki Saito with Tomoaki Kanemoto (1-for-4, R) on first and Keiichi Hirano (1-for-3, R) on third and 1 out.  But the Carp quickly responded and tied the game with a 2-run homer by Kenta Kurihara (1-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI) in the bottom of the inning.

The Carp managed to gain the lead in the 5th and didn't look back: Soichiro Amaya (1-for-4, R) and Yoshikazu Kura (1-for-4, R) led off the inning with singles; a sac bunt by Saito moved both runners up a base; Akihiro Higashide (1-for-4, RBI) drove in the go-ahead run with a single; Tetsuya Kokubo (2-for-3, BB, R) walked to load the bases; Andy Phllips (1-for-4, 2B, RBI) drove in another run with a grounder to third; and Kurihara flied out to center.

An RBI single by Jun Hirose (2-for-4, RBI) in the bottom of the 8th, with runners on first and third, made it 5-2.

Katsuhiro Nagakawa entered the game in the top of the 9th and retired the side in order for his 28th save of the year.

Missed Opportunities
Tigers
1st: runner on second, 1 out > Toritani flied out and Kanemoto flied out
4th: runner on second, 1 out > Sekimoto struck out, wild pitch, runner to third, Asai grounded out
5th: runner on third, 2 out > Hirano flied out
7th: runner on second, 1 out > pinch hitter Hiyama fouled out to the catcher, pinch hitter Katsuragi walked, runners on first and second, and Akahoshi grounded out
8th: runner on second, 2 out > Arai struck out

Carp
5th: runners on first and third, 2 out > Kurihara flied out
6th: runners on first and second, no out > Amaya failed sac bunt, double steal, lead runner caught stealing, runner on first steals second, Kura flied out
8th: runners on first and second, 1 out > Amaya lined out and Kura struck out

Game Notes
The Carp outhit the Tigers, 10-6. ... Masahiro Araki made his first start in 3 days. He is currently nursing a bad left wrist. ... Scott Atchison wasn't too happy about being lifted after only .2 innings of work. He apparently threw a bit of a fit in the locker room after he was removed.

Tigers: 6 LOB, 1 DP
Carp: 6 LOB, 1 DP

Hanshin Tigers

Hiroshima Carp

Mazda Stadium
Attendance: 31,724
Time: 3h 4m

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Fighters lead series 10-9-0

Scoring
Eagles 1st: Naoto Watanabe (0-for-4) grounds out to short ... Yosuke Takasu (1-for-4) grounds out to second ... double by Teppei (2-for-4, 2B, R) ... Takeshi Yamasaki (1-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI) hits his 33rd home run of the year ... Teppei and Yamasaki SCORE ... Kenshi (2-for-4, HR, R, RBI) grounds out to second ... 2-0 Eagles.

Fighters 3rd: 1-out HBP to Makoto Kaneko (1-for-3, HBP, 2B, R) ... triple by Kensuke Tanaka (2-for-5, 3B, R, RBI) ... Kaneko SCORES ... Hichori Morimoto (0-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R) walk ... Atsunori Inaba (1-for-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI) reaches on fielding error ... Tanaka SCORES ... Shinji Takahashi (3-for-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI) doubles ... Morimoto SCORES ... Terrmel Sledge (2-for-4, BB, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI) hits his 20th home run of the year ... Inaba, Takahashi, and Sledge SCORE ... Eiichi Koyano (2-for-5) grounds out to pitcher ... Yoshio Itoi (1-for-4, BB, 2B) doubles ... Shinya Tsuruoka (0-for-4, RBI) strikes out ... 6-2 Fighters.

Fighters 5th: Takahashi singles ... Sledge singles ... Koyano sac bunt fails ... Itoi walks ... Tsuruoka squeeze bunt ... Takahashi SCORES ... M. Kaneko strikes out ... 7-2 Fighters.

Fighters 6th: Tanaka grounds out to second ... Morimoto walks ... Inaba grounds out to second ... Morimoto to second ... Takahashi singles ... Morimoto SCORES ... Takahashi steals second ... Sledge walks ... Koyano singles ... Takahashi SCORES ... Itoi flies out to left ... 9-2 Fighters

Fighters 8th: Inaba home run ... Inaba SCORES ... Takahashi grounds out to third ... Sledge strikes out ... Koyano grounds out to third ... 10-2 Fighters

Eagles 9th: Kenshi home run ... Kenshi SCORES ... Fernando Seguignol (1-for-4) grounds out to short ... Daisuke Kusano (0-for-4) flies out to left ... Ryuji Miyade (1-for-3, BB) singles ...  Motohiro Shima strikes out ... 10-3 Fighters

Missed Opportunities
Fighters
3rd: runner on second, 2 out > Tsuruoka struck out
5th: runners on second and third, 2 out > M. Kaneko struck out
6th: runners on first and second, 2 out > Itoi flied out
7th: runner on second, 1 out > Tanaka struck out and Morimoto grounded out

Eagles
2nd: runners on first and second, 2 out > Shima struck out and N. Watanabe grounded out
6th: runners on first and second, 2 out > Seguignol grounded out

Game Notes
The Fighters outhit the Eagles, 12-8. ... The Eagles have now lost 4 in a row. ... Masaru Takeda tossed his 2nd complete game victory of the season after picking up his first complate game victory of his career on April 16th.

Fighters: 8 LOB, 0 DP
Eagles: 6 LOB, 0 DP

Nippon Ham Fighters

Rakuten Eagles

Kleenex Stadium
Attendance: 19,781
Time: 3h 4m

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Buffaloes lead series, 14-6.

Lotte scored single runs in the 2nd (bases loaded, 1 out, RBI single by Kazuya Fukuura) and 4th innings (Tasuku Hashimoto's 2nd home run of the year to start the inning) to take a 2-0 lead.

The Buffaloes answered back with a run of their own in the bottom of the 5th on a solo homer by Alex Cabrera (1-for-3, 2 BB, HR, 2 R, RBI).  A lead-off triple by Tadahito Iguchi (2-for-6, 3B, R), followed by a Saburo (1-for-4, RBI) sac fly in the top of the 7th gave the Marines a 3-1 lead.

But Orix wasn't ready to throw in the towel just yet: with a runner on second with 1 out in the bottom of the 8th, Jose Fernandez (1-for-3, BB, RBI) hit a single into center that made it 3-2; and Koji Yamasaki (2-for-5, HR, R, RBI) launched a game-tying homer off Brian Sikorski in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game at 3.

In the top of the 10th, the Buffaloes grabbed the lead: Hashimoto led off with a single and advanced to second on a bunt; Fukuura (4-for-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI) doubled Hashimoto home to give the Marines a 4-3 lead; with one swing of the bat, Heiuchi (3-for-5, 2 2B, HR, R, 2 RBI) made it 6-3; Daisuke Kato relieved Chihiro Kaneko; Keisuke Hayasaka (0-for-5) grounded out to first; and Iguchi fouled out to first to end the inning.

The Buffaloes tried to stage a comeback against Lotte and Sikorski in the bottom of the 10th, but could only get as far as a 2-out, 2-run homer by Shinji Shimoyama (3-for-5, HR, R, 2 RBI).  Tadahiro Ogino then relieved Sikorski and retired the next batter on a ground out to short to end the game and pick up his 9th save of the year.

Missed Opportunities
Marines
2nd: bases loaded, 1 out > Heiuchi struck out and Hayasaka struck out
4th: runner on second, 2 out > Hayasaka singled into left, lead runner thrown out at home
6th: runners on first and second, 1 out > Heiuchi struck out and Hayasaka grounded out
8th: runners on second and third, 2 out > Hayasaka grounded out
9th: runner on second, 2 out > Hayakawa struck out

Buffaloes
2nd: bases loaded, 1 out > Okada fouled out to the catcher and Sakaguchi grounded out
4th: runners on first and second, 1 out > K. Yamasaki flied out and Okada struck out
9th: runner on second, 2 out > Cabrera grounded out

Game Notes
The Marines outhit the Buffaloes, 15-11.

Marines: 11 LOB, 0 DP
Buffaloes: 9 LOB, 0 DP

Chiba Lotte Marines

Orix Buffaloes

Skymark
Attendance: 13,678
Time: 3h 59m

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Hawks lead series 10-8-2

Scoring
Lions 3rd: runner on third, no out > RBI single by Yutaro Ohsaki (3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI) ... 1-0 Lions

Hawks 3rd: runners on first and second, no out > RBI single by Hiroki Kokubo (1-for-4, R, RBI); runners on first and second, not out > RBI double by Nobuhiko Matsunaka (2-for-3, BB, 2 2B, R, RBI); runners on second and third, no out > RBI single by Hitoshi Tamura (2-for-4, 3B, 2 R, RBI); bases loaded, no out > RBI walk by Hidenori Tanoue (1-for-2, BB, HR, R, 3 RBI); bases loaded, no out > 2-run double by Kenji Akashi (2-for-4, BB, 2B, R, 3 RBI) ... 6-1 Hawks

Hawks 4th: runner on third, 1 out > RBI single by Yuya Hasegawa (2-for-3, 2 BB, 3 R, RBI); runner on second, 2 out > RBI single by Akashi; runner on second, 2 out > RBI single by Honda ... 9-1 Hawks

Lions 6th: no runners on, no out > home run by Hiroyuki Nakajima (1-for-4, HR, R, RBI) ... 9-2 Hawks

Hawks 6th: runner on first, no out > 2-run home run by Tanoue ... 11-2 Hawks

Lions 7th: runner on secnd, 2 out > RBI double by Ohsaki ... 11-3 Hawks

Hawks 7th: no runners on, 2 out > home run by Yusuke Kosai (1-for-1, HR, R, RBI) ... 12-3 Hawks

Missed Opportunities
Lions
2nd: runners on first and second, no out > Hara failed bunt, Miura grounded out, Hosokawa flied out
7th: runner on second, 2 out > Nakajima flied out
8th: runners on first and second, 2 out > Miura grounded out

Hawks
1st: bases loaded, 2 out > Tamura grounds out
2nd: runner on second, 1 out > Akashi struck out, wild pitch, runner to third, Honda flied out
3rd: bases loaded, no out > Kawasaki grounded out, bases loaded, Ortiz struck out, Kokubo flied out
4th: runner on third, 2 out > Kawasaki flied out
5th: runner on secod, 2 out > Tamura flied out
8th: bases loaded, 2 out > Morimoto grounded out

Game Notes
The Hawks outhit the Lions, 14-11. ... D.J. Houlton picked up his first 10-win season in the NPB and also became the first foreigner on the Hawks to reach the milestone since 1965 when Joe Stanka won 14.

Lions: 8 LOB, 0 DP
Hawks: 12 LOB, 0 DP

Seibu Lions

Softbank Hawks

Yahoo Dome
Attendance: 34,334
Time: 3h 47m

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