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Some rights reserved.
There has been little doubt at the top of the Central League for much of the season, but the battle for scraps is alive and well.
Jason Standridge was strong on short rest, and the Hanshin Tigers solidified their spot in fifth place, taking down the third-place Yakult Swallows 4-1 on Thursday at Koshien Stadium.
Standridge (7-11) scattered nine hits and a walk over seven innings, and Tomoaki Kanemoto’s bases-loaded walk was the difference as the Tigers kept their seven-game cushion over cellar-dwelling Yokohama. The Swallows remained a game ahead of Hiroshima for the third and final Climax Series spot.
Matt Murton had three hits, and Takashi Toritani added a pair of singles as Hanshin avoided a sweep at home.
GIANTS 4, CARP 1
Shinnosuke Abe slammed a two-run homer and Tetsuya Utsumi (13-6) worked seven innings of one-run ball as Yomiuri reduced its magic number to win the CL to eight by beating up on Hiroshima at Tokyo Dome.
Utsumi allowed five hits with two walks and five Ks as the Giants won their fifth straight and moved 40 games over .500.
DRAGONS 6, BAYSTARS 6
Kazuhiro Wada slugged a three-run homer and a two-run double, but Chunichi's Kenichi Nakata couldn’t protect the lead, as host Yokohama battled back and the sides eventually settled for a draw.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
LIONS 8, BUFFALOES 1
Kazuhisa Makita (11-7) twirled eight strong innings, allowing a run on four hits with four Ks, for his team-leading 11th win, and Hideto Asamura had three hits and three RBIs to lead host Seibu past Orix.
Esteban German added a bases-loaded walk and an RBI double for Seibu.
EAGLES 6, HAWKS 2
Brandon Duckworth (1-1) held SoftBank to a run on four hits and no walks over 7.2 innings [fanning eight], and seventh-year infielder Daisuke Kusano cracked his first career grand slam as Rakuten cruised at Fukuoka.
FIGHTERS 6, MARINES 6
Micah Hoffpauir’s solo homer in the eighth got Nippon Ham even after it blew a big lead, thanks to three hits and three RBIs from Josh Whitesell, as Lotte and the Fighters battled to a tie The Q.