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Some rights reserved.
The Seibu Lions are starting to dig in for the final stretch in the Pacific League pennant race. And they're leaving marks.
The Nippon Ham Fighters can attest to that after losing a lead for the second straight day, this one four runs in a stinging 5-4 loss at Seibu Dome on Saturday.
Esteban German rifled a single to right to tie the score and Chris Carter hit what looked like a double-play ball -- with runners on first and third with one out -- that was booted by Makoto Kaneko to give the Lions the lead.
It went into the record books as an RBI groundout, but was a room-service double-play ball that Kaneko kicked.
Hideto Asamura had three hits, including a clutch single in the seventh to make it a one-run game after the Lions were down 4-0 after an inning and a half.
“We aren’t giving up and even if we lose a game, we don’t feel like we lost,” Asamura said in the hero interview.
The Fighters popped Lions starter Kazuhisa Ishii from the get-go, Yang Zhong-shou clubbing his second-career leadoff homer to spark a three-run outburst that KO'd the lefty in the opening frame after 32 pitches.
But the Seibu bullpen, which allowed a run in the second, shut the Fighters down over seven innings. Hideaki Wakui closed it out with a perfect ninth for his 26th save.
MARINES 8, BUFFALOES 3
Ikuhiro Kiyota had a single and homer and Toshiaki Imae's grand slam backed rookie Takahiro Fujioka (6-6), who carried a shutout into the eighth before yielding three runs as Lotte romped at home.
Orix lost its 10th straight, the team’s longest skid since 2007.
HAWKS 4, EAGLES 2
Yuichi Honda's two-run single in the eighth broke a 2-2 tie and helped SoftBank edge Rakuten at The Kleenex Box.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
BAYSTARS 7, CARP 4
Takayuki Kajitani belted his second career homer -- a three-run shot -- to give host Yokohama the lead and Alex Ramirez drove in two runs without the benefit of a hit in a victory over sliding Hiroshima.
Carp rookie Yusuke Nomura (9-10) failed to reach double digits in wins and Hiroshima lost its season-worst seventh straight.
DRAGONS 2, TIGERS 0
Junnji Ito (1-0) blanked Hanshin over 6.2 innings and Hitoki Iwase, the Dragons' third reliever, notched his 31st save as Chunichi posted its 28th shutout [second most in club history] the Tigers at Koshien Stadium.
SWALLOWS 9, GIANTS 3
Hiroyasu Tanaka had three hits, including a double, and three RBIs as Yakult knocked around title-drunk Yomiuri at Tokyo Dome.
[Edited by: jgibson on Sep 23, 2012 7:42 AM]