Pacific heights …

Hawks lock up PL’s 7th straight interleague title

The SoftBank Hawks can only hope they can duplicate their interleague play in the postseason, when it really counts.

The win-greedy Hawks parlayed one strong inning on offense, and seven frames of one-run pitching from Toshiya Sugiuchi (4-2) into a 4-1 win over the Yakult Swallows on Saturday and assure the Pacific League of its seventh straight interleague title.

Brian Falkenborg worked a scoreless eighth and closer Takahiro Mahara tossed a 1-2-3 ninth at FYJ Dome as SoftBank improved to 16-1-2 vs. the Central League.

Alex Cabrera cracked a two-run homer, and Jose Ortiz smacked a solo shot in a four-run first that gave the Hawks their sixth straight victory.

The Hawks can wrap up their third interleague title, first in two years, with a win and a Nippon Ham Fighters loss on Sunday.

Sugiuchi held Yakult to two hits, while walking two and fanning six to win his fourth straight decision. The Hawks managed just two singles over their final seven frames.

The PL improved to 63-43-8 against the CL this season.


GIANTS 6, BUFFALOES 2

Tetsuya Utsumi (8-1) tossed five innings and Yoshiyuki Kamei led off the game with a homer as Yomiuri stopped Orix’s seven-game winning streak with a victory at Kyocera Dome Osaka.

Utsumi allowed two runs on six hits and a walk, and one of Shinnosuke Abe’s two hits drove in a run as the Giants halted a four-game skid.

TIGERS 4, LIONS 0

Atsushi Nomi (3-4) fired a four-hitter for his first shutout this year, and Matt Murton opened the game with a homer and added a seventh-inning RBI double as Hanshin blanked host Seibu.

Nomi walked one, hit a batter and struck out eight for his first shutout since April 24, 2009.

EAGLES 5, DRAGONS 4

Kazuo Matsui capped a four-run fifth with a two-run single as Rakuten rallied from an early deficit to edge Chunichi at The Kleenex Box.

New import Luis Garcia made his debut with the Eagles, collecting a single and a double.

FIGHTERS 3, BAYSTARS 2

Micah Hoffpauir cracked a tiebreaking solo shot in the seventh, and Bobby Keppel (6-1), allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk as Nippon Ham edged Yokohama at Sapporo Dome.

Hoffpauir’s shot, his eighth, canceled out a shot off the bat of Terrmel Sledge, who hit his 10th to reach double digits in longballs in all four of his seasons in Japan.

MARINES 10, CARP 1

Shoitsu Omatsu blasted a grand slam -- the sixth of his career -- and drove in five, and Shunsuke Watanabe (2-2) scattered a run on five hits and no walks, using 99 pitches for his 28th career shutout as Lotte pounded Hiroshima.

Tadahito Iguchi had a hit and drove in three as the Marines halted their four-game skid.