Tomoaki Kanemoto hit a milestone but Makoto Kaneko hit the mark on Sunday.
Kanemoto became the ninth player to reach 1,500 RBIs, but Kaneko's two-run double broke a tie and kicked off a four-run rally that spoiled the milestone moment for the man known as "Big Brother" as Nippon Ham won 7-3 at Sapporo Dome.
The win gave Nippon Ham an interleague sweep of the four games against Hanshin.
Kanemoto, a fourth-round pick by the Hiroshima Carp in 1992, helped get the Tigers even at 3-3 with his two-run double. But the Tigers, fourth in the Central League, couldn't match the Fighters' offense.
Nicknamed "Big Brother," Kanemoto notched his first RBI on Sept. 4, 1993 against Yokohama. At 44 years and 8 months, he became the oldest player to reach the milestone. Hiromitsu Ochiai was the previous oldest player to hit that figure.
The Fighters, second in the Pacific League, went a season-best nine games over .500 with the win.
GIANTS 6, BUFFALOES 0
D.J. Houlton (4-4) held Orix to two hits and a walk with eight Ks over seven innings, and Hayato Sakamoto had three hits and two RBIs while Shuichi Murata had two hits and three RBIs in a win at Kyocera Dome Osaka.
Yomiuri lefty Tetsuya Yamaguchi, who started his career as a developmental player, matched former Yokohama closer Kazuhiro Sasaki’s record of 24 consecutive appearances to open a season without allowing a run. He worked a perfect eighth, fanning two. The Giants are just 1.5 games behind Chunichi in the CL.
BAYSTARS 7, LIONS 5
Sho Aranami drove in three with three hits, and one of his two doubles came in a season-high five-run fifth inning that helped carry Yokohama past host Seibu.
Yokohama’s Shun finished up a strong bullpen effort, collecting his seventh save with a perfect ninth.
MARINES 5, DRAGONS 2
Yoshifumi Okada had two hits and tied his career high with three RBIs as Lotte, for the second straight day, got out early and held off Chunichi at The Q.
Lotte went a season-high 13 games over .500.
SWALLOWS 5, HAWKS 1
Kazuhiro Hatakeyama homered and doubled in a run for four RBIs, and Shohei Tateyama (4-4) held SoftBank to a run over eight innings as Yakult won at FYJ Dome to clinch their first interleague series victory over the Hawks in franchise history.
EAGLES 3, CARP 1
Rookie Rakuten righty Yoshinao Kamata (2-0) tossed 6.2 innings of three-hit ball to hold Hiroshima to a run and win his debut at The Kleenex Box, thanks to two RBIs from Shintaro Masuda.
Interleague count
PL 40, CL 36, 7 TIES
Tomoaki Kanemoto hit a milestone but Makoto Kaneko hit the mark on Sunday.
Kanemoto became the ninth player to reach 1,500 RBIs, but Kaneko's two-run double broke a tie and kicked off a four-run rally that spoiled the milestone moment for the man known as "Big Brother" as Nippon Ham won 7-3 at Sapporo Dome.
The win gave Nippon Ham an interleague sweep of the four games against Hanshin.
Kanemoto, a fourth-round pick by the Hiroshima Carp in 1992, helped get the Tigers even at 3-3 with his two-run double. But the Tigers, fourth in the Central League, couldn't match the Fighters' offense.
Nicknamed "Big Brother," Kanemoto notched his first RBI on Sept. 4, 1993 against Yokohama. At 44 years and 8 months, he became the oldest player to reach the milestone. Hiromitsu Ochiai was the previous oldest player to hit that figure.
The Fighters, second in the Pacific League, went a season-best nine games over .500 with the win.
GIANTS 6, BUFFALOES 0
D.J. Houlton (4-4) held Orix to two hits and a walk with eight Ks over seven innings, and Hayato Sakamoto had three hits and two RBIs while Shuichi Murata had two hits and three RBIs in a win at Kyocera Dome Osaka.
Yomiuri lefty Tetsuya Yamaguchi, who started his career as a developmental player, matched former Yokohama closer Kazuhiro Sasaki’s record of 24 consecutive appearances to open a season without allowing a run. He worked a perfect eighth, fanning two. The Giants are just 1.5 games behind Chunichi in the CL.
BAYSTARS 7, LIONS 5
Sho Aranami drove in three with three hits, and one of his two doubles came in a season-high five-run fifth inning that helped carry Yokohama past host Seibu.
Yokohama’s Shun finished up a strong bullpen effort, collecting his seventh save with a perfect ninth.
MARINES 5, DRAGONS 2
Yoshifumi Okada had two hits and tied his career high with three RBIs as Lotte, for the second straight day, got out early and held off Chunichi at The Q.
Lotte went a season-high 13 games over .500.
SWALLOWS 5, HAWKS 1
Kazuhiro Hatakeyama homered and doubled in a run for four RBIs, and Shohei Tateyama (4-4) held SoftBank to a run over eight innings as Yakult won at FYJ Dome to clinch their first interleague series victory over the Hawks in franchise history.
EAGLES 3, CARP 1
Rookie Rakuten righty Yoshinao Kamata (2-0) tossed 6.2 innings of three-hit ball to hold Hiroshima to a run and win his debut at The Kleenex Box, thanks to two RBIs from Shintaro Masuda.
Interleague count
PL 40, CL 36, 7 TIES