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Some rights reserved.
The Yakult Swallows look more and more like a contender, and they will continue to do so as long as the slump-hit version of the Chunichi Dragons are on the field with them.
Yoshinori Sato beat the Dragons for the second time this season, on Wednesday holding them to two runs -- one earned -- over eight innings of a 4-3 decision as the Swallows continued killing the Dragons with their fifth straight victory over them in less than a month.
The 21-year-old Sato (3-1), who blanked the reigning Central League champs on April 20, scattered five hits and three walks with eight Ks for his third win.
Josh Whitesell backed the right-hander with a couple of homers and three RBIs, and hot-hitting newcomer Wladimir Balentien chipped in with three hits, including a double.
South Korean closer Lim Chang Yang allowed a run in the ninth inning en route to his 100th save in Japan.
The win put the Swallows seven games over .500 for the first time in two years, and they are in first place in the CL, two games ahead of the Hiroshima Carp.
GIANTS 4, TIGERS 3
Seldom-used backup catcher Kazunari Sanematsu, an eighth-inning replacement, came up with his first hit since Aug. 19, 2008, in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Yomiuri notched its first win at Tokyo Dome with a walk-off over Hanshin.
The Tigers put up a three-spot in the first inning, but couldn’t score over the final eight frames. After a leadoff double to Yoshitomo Tani in the ninth, and the outfielder gambled and won by moving to third on a grounder to short.
He beat the tag and set up Sanematsu, whose first career walk-off hit gave him 86 hits in his career, three since 2006.
BAYSTARS 5, CARP 4
Shuichi Murata helped Yokohama stop its latest slide -- this one three games -- with a two-out RBI double in the eighth as the BayStars came back to top Hiroshima at The Zoom.
Murata also singled in a four-run third inning that helped the BayStars back from a 3-0 hole.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
BUFFALOES 1, FIGHTERS 0
Hayato Terahara (2-2) tossed his second shutout of the season, a six-hitter to beat Nippon Ham at Kyocera Dome Osaka.
Terahara fanned seven and walked one, and Aarom Baldiris’ fifth-inning RBI single pushed home the game’s only run, pinning Masaru Takeda (2-2) with the hard-luck loss.
MARINES 8, LIONS 2
Yoshifumi Okada had three hits and two RBIs and Ikuhiro Kiyota homered and drove in three as Lotte bombed Seibu starter Kazuhisa Ishii (1-1) for six runs in 2.1 innings as the reigning Japan Series champs cruised for the second straight day at Seibu Dome.
Rookie Shota Ishimine had three hits in his first pro start.
The teams combined to hit into a PL-record-tying seven double plays, the ninth time that has happened.
HAWKS 4, EAGLES 2
Hitoshi Tamura drove in two runs and D.J. Houlton (3-1) went six strong innings to win his third straight decision as SoftBank topped visiting Rakuten for the second straight day.
[Edited by: jgibson on May 4, 2011 11:43 PM]
[Edited by: jgibson on May 5, 2011 7:40 PM]