Central focus …

Ono shuts down Giants as Dragons stay relevant in CL race

The Chunichi Dragons know there’s still a long way to go in the Central League pennant race, but feel they need to take two of three in their series against the Yomiuri Giants to remain in the running for the club’s first league three-peat.

Putting the ball in the hands of young lefty Yudai Ono wasn’t exactly the plan they envisioned in an important series this summer, but the kid answered with a three-hit scoreless performance over 6.1 innings as the Dragons won 2-0 over the Giants on Tuesday at Tokyo Dome.

Ono (2-0) registered seven K’s with one walk for his first win over the Giants, and reliever Daisuke Yamai retired all four batters he faced to set up Shinji Tajima and Hitoki Iwase in the ninth. Iwase allowed a hit but locked up his Japan-best 28th save.

The Dragons, who stranded eight runners over the first six innings, got to loser Hirokazu Sawamura (8-8) as Masahiko Morino drove a shot off the wall in center to score the only two runs of the game in the seventh.

The Giants saw both their club-record 11-game winning streak at the dome and a six-game winning string snapped while their lead in the CL shrunk to 4.5 games over the second-place Dragons.

It was Chunichi’s first win at Tokyo Dome since Sept. 19 last year.

“We really wanted to win this game,” Chunichi Morimichi Takagi said in a TV interview. “In that respect, Ono did really well to battle through as we wasted chances."

TIGERS 7, SWALLOWS 2

Takahiro Arai keyed a four-run, fifth-inning outburst with a score-tying RBI double [the first of three consecutive RBI extra-base hits] and five relievers held Yakult scoreless over five innings as host Hanshin won its second straight since stopping a seven-game skid.

Tomoaki Kanemoto hit a broken-bat triple just inside the line in right in the fifth, becoming the oldest player in CL history to register for a three-base hit.

CARP 4, BAYSTARS 4, 10 INNINGS

Tomohiro Abe’s first pro homer tied the score in the fifth and neither team could break the deadlock as Hiroshima and Yokohama tied at Hiratsuka in Kanagawa Prefecture.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

FIGHTERS 5, MARINES 3

Atsunori Inaba tied the score with a fourth-inning sac fly and blasted a three-run homer off Seth Greisinger (6-5) as Nippon Ham moved into first place [by a half-game] for the first time since May 10 with a win over Lotte at The Q.

Soft-tossing lefty Masaru Takeda (8-5) made a strong case for top pitcher of July, going seven innings and holding Lotte to three runs for his fourth win of the month and fourth straight win vs. the Marines [sputtering at 2-3-1 since the All-Star break].

BUFFALOES 7, LIONS 1

Aarom Baldiris ripped a three-run homer [his eighth] and had four hits, and hot-hitting Lee Dae Ho smacked his third homer in as many games [the South Korean’s PL-best 18th] to back Hiroshi Kisanuki’s six-hit complete game as Orix topped host Seibu.

Baldiris slugged a two-run shot in a four-run first, and Mitsutaka Goto had two hits and two RBIs. Kisanuki (4-6), who went the distance for the second straight start, walked two and fanned four while allowing his only run on Esteban German’s second longball.

It was Seibu’s first loss since the All-Star break.

*The Hawks and Eagles were rained out at Iwate Prefecture.