===

Tokyo Dome | Attendance: 43,917 | Time: 2h 54m | Giants lead series, 13-6-3

Hiroshima Carp fell further away from third place as they fell to the Giants, 4-1.

An RBI single by Shinnosuke Abe (2-for-4, 2 RBI) in the bottom of the 4th with runners on first and second and 1 out gave the Giants a 1-0 lead.  Michihiro Ogasawara's (1-for-3, HR, R, 2 RBI) 31st home run of the year following Tetsuya Matsumoto's (2-for-3, BB, R) lead-off single in the bottom of the 5th made it 3-0.

The Carp finally got on the board in the top of the 6th on an RBI double by Tetsuya Kokubo (2-for-4, 2 2B, RBI) with Scott McClain (1-for-4) on first and Kenta Kurihara (0-for-3, BB, R) on third and 1 out.

Yoshikyuki Kamei's (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI) 25th home run of the year to start off the 8th gave the Giants their 4-1 lead.

Kiyoshi Toyoda entered the game in the top of the 9th and gave up a 1-out single to pinch hitter Shigenobu Shima before retiring the next two batters in order for his 4th save of the year.

Missed Opportunities
Carp
1st: runner on second, 1 out > Phillips flied out, runner on third, Kurihara grounded out
2nd: runners on first and second, 2 out > Ohtake grounded out
4th: runner on second, 2 out > Kura grounded out
6th: runners on second and third, 1 out > Kura grounded out and pinch hitter Hirose struck out

Giants
2nd: runner on second, 2 out > Abe grounded out
3rd: runners on first and second, 2 out > Ogasawara struck out
4th: runners on first and second, 1 out > Furuki flied out, runners on first and third, H. Takahashi walked, bases loaded, and Sakamoto flied out
7th: runner on second, 2 out > Ramirez grounded out
8th: runners on first and third, 1 out > pinch hitter Ohmichi GIDP

Carp: 10 LOB, 0 DP
Giants: 8 LOB, 1 DP

News
The Giants outhit the Carp, 9-8. ... The Giants swept the series (3-0) and outscored the Carp,8-3. ... The Giants have won 10 games in a row. ... The Carp have dropped 5 games in a row. ... Yamaguchi set a new club record for most appearances in a seasons with 71. ... Ogasawara drove in two runs and set a new career high for RBIs in a season with 103 (his previous high was 102).

Hiroshima Carp

Yomiuri Giants

===

Jingu | Attendance: 13,756  | Time: 2h 27m | Bay Stars lead series, 13-9-0

The Swallows kept pace with the Tigers as they beat the Bay Stars, 3-1.

Tatsuhiko Kinjo (2-for-4, 2B, R) led off the game with a double into left.  A sac bunt later, with Kinjo on third, Seiichi Uchikawa (1-for-4, 2B, RBI) nailed a double into right that gave the Bay Stars a quick 1-0 lead.

The Swallows tied it in the bottom of the 3rd on an RBI single by Yuichi (1-for-3, R, RBI) with runners on first and second and 2 out.  And while Norichika Aoki ended the inning with a fly out to center with runners on first and third, he came up big in the bottom of the 6th.

After Yuichi reached first on a fielding error by Takahiro Saeki (1B) to start the 6th, Aoki (1-for-3, BB, HR, R, 2 RBI) nailed his 14th home run of the year to give the Swallows a 3-1 lead.

The Bay Stars threatened in the bottom of the 9th: Shuichi Murata struck out to start the inning; Saeki (1-for-4) hit a single into left and was replaced by pinch runner Keijiro Matsumoto; Yuki Yoshimura (0-for-4) struck out; and pinch hitter Dan Johnson walked and was replaced by pinch runner Noriharu Yamazaki to put runners on first and second.  But that's as far as the Bay Stars got as Masanori Ishikawa got Shingo Takeyama (1-for-4, 2B) to foul out to first to end the game.

Both Daisuke Miura and Ishikawa had solid starts.  And if not for the 2-run homer by Aoki in the 6th, the game may have ended in favor of the Bay Stars -- over the final 5 innings of the game, the Swallows had just 1 hit (Aoki's home run) while the Bays Stars had 3.

Missed Opportunities
Bay Stars
1st: runners on first and third, 1 out > Saeki struck out and Yoshimura flied out
5th: runner on second, no out > Miura struck out, Kinjo grounded out, and Fujita grounded out
9th: runners on first and second, 2 out > Takeyama fouled out to first

Swallows
3rd: runners on first and third, 2 out > Aoki flied out

Bay Stars: 7 LOB, 0 DP
Swallows: 5 LOB, 0 DP

News
The Bay Stars outhit the Swallows, 7-4. ... The Swallows swept the series (3-0) and outscored the Bay Stars, 13-7. ... Four of the last five Swallows' victories have been complete games.

Yokohama Bay Stars

Yakult Swallows

===

Nagoya Dome | Attendance: 37,709 | Time: 3h 16m | Dragons lead series, 14-9-0.

The Dragons continued their slide as the Tigers beat them, 8-2.

Minoru Iwata (1-for-4, RBI) helped himself to an RBI in the top of the 2nd when he singled into right with runners on first and third and 2 out.  A sac fly by Tomoaki Kanemoto (0-for-3, BB, R, RBI) in the top of the third with Kentaro Sekimoto (3-for-5, R, RBI) on third and 1 out gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

The Tigers put up a 6-spot in the top of the 5th to take an 8-0 lead:

Takashi Toritani (1-for-5, R) led off with a single.  Kanemoto walked to put runners on first and second.  Takahiro Arai (2-for-5, 2B, R, RBI) drove in a run with a single into center, runners on first and second.  Craig Brazell (0-f0r-4) flied out to center.  Kodai Sakurai (2-for-3, BB, 2 R) walked to load the bases.  Keisuke Kano (2-for-4, HR, R, 4 RBI) hit a grand slam that gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead.  Iwata struck out.  Keiichi Hirano (1-for-3, BB, R) hit a single into right and a throwing error allowed him to advance to second.  Sekimoto drove in Hirano with a single into right. And Toritani flied out to right to end the inning.

In the bottom of the 8th, with Kai-Wen Cheng now on the mound for the Tigers, the Dragons finally managed to score a couple of runs: with 2 outs, Hirokazu Ibata (2-for-3, R) hit a single; Masahiko Morino (1-for-3, 2B, R) followed with a double; and Tony Blanco (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI) cleared the bases with a double into left.

Before being removed prior to the 8th, Iwata had held the Dragons' line-up to just 4 hits over 7 full innings of work (with also included three 1-2-3 innings).

Missed Opportunities
Tigers
2nd: runners on first and third, 2 out > Hirano grounded out
3rd: runner on second, 2 out > Brazell flied out
4th: runners on first and second, 2 out > Sekimoto flied out

Dragons
1st: runner on second, 1 out > Morino struck out and Blanco grounded out
6th: runners on first and second, 1 out > Morino GIDP
7th: runners on second and third, no out > Inoue struck out, pinch hitter Hirata flied out, and pinch hitter Koike struck out
8th: runner on second, 2 out > Wada flied out

Tigers: 8 LOB, 0 DP
Dragons: 6 LOB, 1 DP

News
The Tigers outhit the Dragons, 13-7. ... The Tigers won the series (2-1) and outscored the Dragons, 20-14. ... Kano hit his first grand slam of his career.

Hanshin Tigers

Chunichi Dragons

======

Seibu Dome | Attendance: 33,901 | Time: 3h 45m | Series tied, 11-11-0

Scoring

Eagles 1st

Masato Nakamura (1-for-5, R, RBI) flies out to left.
Naoto Watanabe (2-for-4, 2 BB, 2B, 2 R,  RBI) walks.
Teppei (2-for-5, BB, 2B, 2 R, RBI) grounds out to second ... runner on second
Takeshi Yamasaki (1-for-5, BB, R) walks ... runners on first and second
Daisuke Kusano (2-for-6, 2 RBI) hits a single into center ... N. Watanabe SCORES ... runners on first and second
Fernando Seguignol (3-for-4, BB, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI) walks ... bases loaded
Todd Linden (2-for-5, R, RBI) strikes out
Runs: 1 | Hits: 1 | Score: 1-0 Eagles

Eagles 3rd

N. Watanabe walks
Stolen base ... runner on second
Teppei walks ... runners on first and second
T. Yamasaki flies out to left
Teppei hits a single ... N. Watanabe SCORES ... runners on first and third
Seguignol reaches on a fielding error by Kataoka (2B) ... Teppei SCORES ... runners on first and third
Linden strikes out
Makoto Kosaka (1-for-4, BB, R) flies out to right
Runs: 2 | Hits: 1 | Score: 3-0 Eagles

Eagles 4th

Jin Nakatani (2-for-4, R, 3 RBI) hits a single into left
M. Nakamura hits a sac bunt ... runner on second
N. Watanabe hits a single into right ... runners on first and third
Teppei hits a single into left ... Nakatani SCORES ... runners on first and second
Wild pitch ... runners on second and third
T. Yamasaki grounds out to second
Kusano grounds out to second
Runs: 1 | Hits: 3 | Score: 4-0 Eagles

Eagles 5th

Pitching change: Koji Ohnuma relieves Hideaki Wakui
Seguignol hits a double into right
Linden strikes out
Kosaka hits a single into right ... runners on first and third
Nakatani hit a sac fly to center ... Seguignol SCORES ... runner second
M. Nakamura hits a single into right ... Kosaka SCORES ... runner advances to second on throw
N. Watanabe hits a double ... M. Nakamura SCORES
Pitching change: Fumikazu Kimura relieves Ohnuma
Teppei flies out to center
Runs: 3 | Hits: 4 | Score: 7-0 Eagles

Lions 5th

Yoshihito Ishii (2-for-4) hits a single into left
G.G. Sato (0-for-4, R) grounds out to third ... runner on first
Tomoaki Sato (0-for-3) strikes out
Takuya Hara (1-for-4, 2B, RBI) hits a double ... G.G. Sato SCORES
Pinch hitter: Tatsuyuki Uemoto comes in for Ginjiro
Uemoto (2-for-3, 2B, R) strikes out
Runs: 1 | Hits: 2 | Score: 7-1 Eagles

Eagles 6th

Defense: Uemoto moves in behind the plate
T. Yamasaki grounds out to third
Kusano flies out to left
Seguignol hits a double
Linden hits a single into left ... runners on first and third
Kosaka walks to load the bases
Nakatani hits a single into right ... Seguignol and Linden SCORE ... runners on first and third
M. Nakamura grounds out to second
Runs: 2 | Hits: 3 | Score: 9-1 Eagles

Lions 6th

Yasuyuki Kataoka (1-for-4, BB) hits a single into center
Takumi Kuriyama (1-for-5, R, RBI) grounds out to second ... runner on first
Hiroyuki Nakajima (1-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI hits his 21st home run of the year ... Kuriyama and Nakajima SCORE
Takeya Nakamura (1-for-4) hits a single into right
Ishii hits a single into left ... runners on first and second
G.G. Sato strikes out
Sato grounds out to first
Runs: 2 | Hits: 4 | Score: 9-3 Eagles

Eagles 7th

Pitching change: Minoru Yamagishi relieves Kimura
N. Watanabe flies out
Teppei hits a double into right
T. Yamasaki hits a single ... runners on first and third
Kusano flies out to left
Seguignol hits a single into right ... Teppei SCORES ... runners on first and third
Pinch runner: Ryuji Miyade comes in for Seguignol
Linden hits a single into right ... T. Yamasaki SCORES ... runners on first and third
Kosaka flies out to left
Runs: 2 | Hits: 4 | Score: 11-3 Eagles

Lions 7th

Defense: Miyade moves to first
Hara grounds out  to third
Uemoto hits a double into left
Kataoka grounds out to second ... runner on third
Kuriyama hits a single int left ... Uemoto SCORES
Nakajima flies out to center
Runs: 1 | Hits: 2 | Score: 11-4 Eagles

Missed Opportunities
Eagles
1st: bases loaded, 2 out > Linden struck out
3rd: runners on first and third, 1 out > Linden struck out and Kosaka flied out
4th: runners on second and third, 1 out > T. Yamasaki grounded out and Kusano grounded out
5th: runner on second, 2 out > Teppei flied out
6th: runners on first and third, 2 out > M. Nakamura grounded out
7th: runner on first and third, 2 out > Kosaka flied out

Lions
1st: runner on second, 2 out > Nakajima struck out and runner on second stole third, Nakamura grounded out
5th: runner on second, 2 out > pinch hitter Uemoto struck out
6th: runners on first and second, 1 out > G.G. Sato struck out and Sato grounded out
9th: runners on first and second, 1 out > Kataoka flied out and Kuriyama struck out

Eagles: 12 LOB, 0 DP
Lions: 7 LOB, 0 DP

News
The Eagles outhit the Lions, 16-9. ... The Eagles won the series (2-1) and outscored the Lions, 22-17. ... Every players in the Eagles' starting line-up collected a hit. ... Rasner won his first game since 6/2.

Rakuten Eagles

Seibu Lions

===

Chiba Marine | Attendance: 29,227 | Time: 4h 4m | Buffaloes lead series, 14-9-1

The two teams played out to a 7-7 tie despite the fact that the Buffaloes banged out 21 hits.

Tuffy Rhodes' (2-for-5, 2B, R, 3 RBI) sac fly with runners on first and third and 1 out gave the Buffaloes a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st.  The Marines quickly tied it in the bottom of the first on Koichi Hori's (2-for-6, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI) 4th home run of the year.

The Marines took the lead in the bottom of the 2nd on Benny Agabayani's (1-for-1, HR, R, RBI) 7th home run of the year.  Tsuyoshi Nishioka (2-for-5, 2B, 3B, R, RBI) led off the third with a double and scored 1 out later when Kazuya Fukuura (1-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI) fouled out to third.

In the bottom of the 4th, the Marines scored 4 runs to take a 7-1 lead:

Daisuke Hayakawa (0-for-4) flied out to right. Toshiaki Imae (1-for-5, R) and Ryusuke Minami (2-for-4, R) hit back-to-back singles to put runners on first and third.  Masahiko Tanaka (1-for-3, R, RBI) hit a single that scored a run, runners on first and third.  Nishioka drove in a run with a sac fly.  M. Tanaka stole second. Hori hit a double that scored M. Tanaka.  Fukuura followed with another double that scored Hori.  And Shoitsu Ohmatsu (1-for-5) grounded out to first.

Down 7-1 in the top of the 7th, the Buffaloes exploded for 6 runs (8 consecutive hits) to tie the game at 7:

With 2 out, Koji Yamasaki (3-for-6, 2B, R) and Tomotaka Sakaguchi (3-for-6, 2 R) hit two singles to put runners on first and second.  Naoyuki Ohmura (3-for-4, R, RBI) drove in a run with a single center, runners on first and third. Hirotoshi Kitagawa (3-for-4, RBI) drove in a run with a single into center, runners on first and second.  Ikki entered the game as a pinch runner for Kitagawa.  Rhodes drove in two runs with a double into left.  Tomohisa Nemoto relieved Yuki Karakawa.  Mitsutaka Goto (1-for-6, R) hit a single into left, runners on first and third.  Hiroyuki Oze (2-for-4, RBI) drove in a run with an infield single, runners on first and second.  Tatsuya Uchi relieved Nemoto.  Tetsuya Yokoyama (3-for-4, 2B, RBI) tied the game with a double into left, runners on second and third.  Takahiro Okada (0-for-4, BB) walked to load the bases.  And K. Yamasaki fouled out to the catcher to end the inning.

Meanwhile, the Marines' offense was getting shut down by the Buffaloes.  After the Marines scored their 7th run of the game in the bottom of the 4th, the Buffaloes' bullpen retired 22 straight before giving up a triple to Nishioka in the top of the 12th.  At one point, the Buffaloes bullpen also struck out 7 straight Marines between the 6th and 8th innings.

And while the Marines' offense couldn't get anyone on base, the Buffaloes' offense had different problem: they managed to get runners on base, but failed to get the big hit.  They're biggest chance came in the top of the 12th when they had runners on first and second and only 1 out.  After Okada fouled out to third, K. Yamasaki hit a single into left.  The runner on second rounded third and tried to score but was thrown out at the plate.

Nishoka made things interesting in the bottom of the 12th after he hit a 1-out triple.  But a failed bunt attempt led to a double play that ended the game in anti-climactic fashion.

Missed Opportunities
Buffaloes
3rd: runners on first and second, 2 out > Rhodes flied out
5th: runners on first and third, 1 out > Kitagawa GIDP
7th: bases loaded, 2 out > K. Yamasaki fouled out to catcher
8th: runner on second, 1 out > Ikki grounder up the middle, off the pitcher's glove, Nishioka grabs and gets the runner on second, throws to first, double play
10th: runner on second, 1 out > K. Yamasaki flied out and Sakaguchi grounded out
12th: runners on first and second, 1 out > Okada fouled out to third, K. Yamasaki hit a single, runner on second thrown out at home

Marines
4th: runner on second, 2 out > Ohmatsu grounded out
12th: runner on third, 1 out > Hori bunted/popped out into double play

Buffaloes: 11 LOB, 3 DP
Marines: 4 LOB, 1 DP

News
The Buffaloes outhit  the Marines, 21-12. ... The Marines took the series (2-0-1) and outscored the Buffaloes, 19-9. ... Agbayani hit his home run in his last official at bat in a Marines uniform.

Orix Buffaloes

Chiba Lotte Marines

===

Yahoo Dome | Attendance: 33,300 | Time: 3h 7m | Hawks lead series, 12-10-1

The Hawks dropped the Fighters in a regulation game, 4-2.

Yuichi Honda (1-for-4, R) led off the 4th with a single into center and came around to score on Jose Ortiz's (2-for-3, BB, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI) 20th home run of the year.  In the bottom of the 6th, Ortiz led off with a double and then attempted to steal third.  Masaru Takeda tried to throw him out at third, but the throw was off the mark and Ortiz ended up scoring.

The Fighters finally got on the board in the top of the 7th on a sac fly by Sho Nakata (1-for-3, RBI) with  runners on second and third and 1 out.

Hiroki Kokubo's (1-for-4, 2B, RBI) double in the bottom of the 8th gave the Hawks a 4-1 lead as Ortiz came around to score from second.

Kenji Ohtonari tried to go for a complete game, but he was taken out after he gave up 2 singles to Terrmel Sledge (2-for-4, 2B) and Nakata in the top of the 9th with a force out by Makoto Kaneko (1-for-4, R) sandwiched in between.

Takahiro Mahara relieved Ohtonari and allowed a run to score on pinch hitter Atsunori Inaba's ground out to first.  Mahara then ended the game and picked up his 29th save of the year by getting pinch hitter Tomochika Tsuboi to ground out to second.

Missed Opportunities
Fighters
1st: runners on first and second, no out > Itoi struck out and Takahashi GIDP
5th: runner on second, 2 out > Honda grounded out
7th: runner on second, 2 out > pinch hitter Nioka grounded out
8th: runners on first and second, 1 out > pinch hitter Koyano struck out and Takahashi flied out

Hawks
8th: bases loaded, 2 out > Tamura grounded out

Fighters: 7 LOB, 1 DP
Hawks: 6 LB,  0 DP

News
The Hawks outhit the Fighters, 9-5. ... They tied the series (1-1-1) as the Hawks outscored the Fighters, 8-7. ... The Hawks stopped a 3-game slide. ... Sho Nakata picked up his first pro RBI.

Nippon Ham Fighters

Softbank Hawks

===

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