’Starring roles …

Morimoto, Hamilton help BayStars KO Fighters

Hichori Morimoto loves center stage, and he pushed his way into the spotlight with his performance on the field and in the postgame hero interview after the Yokohama BayStars blanked the Nippon Ham Fighters 2-0 at home.

Morimoto, whose fourth-inning solo blast was all poor overshadowed Clayton Hamilton needed for his first win in Japan, made the crowd laugh and cry with his Tsuyoshi Shinjo-like antics in front of the mic.

The veteran outfielder, who came over from Nippon Ham as a free agent in the offseason, put on a performance that was more memorable than his first longball with the club.

“It wasn’t like the team traded me away in the offseason, so I didn’t go out there thinking, ‘I’m going to get these frickin’ guys.’ I just went out and tried to play well,” said Morimoto, who also had a single.

When asked about getting his first longball with the club, Morimoto pretended to cry and pulled a “psych” line on the spectators, who came out despite the steady rain.

Hamilton (1-3), whose ERA coming in was 5.73 in 13 games (three of them starts), allowed just one hit with one walk and two Ks. He hit a pair of Fighters, but the only one to hit safely off him was Eiichi Koyano, who got lucky when the BayStars allowed his popfly to left fall in. Hamilton lowered his ERA to 4.30.

The new Mr. Hard-Luck loser is Masaru Takeda (2-5), who dropped his fifth straight start via a shutout being thrown against him. He allowed two runs on five hits with four Ks.

The BayStars moved out of the Central League cellar, sending the Hanshin Tigers into last.

BUFFALOES 4, GIANTS 1

Koji Yamasaki unloaded on reliever Daisuke Ochi (3-1) for a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to lift Orix past Yomiuri for a sweep at Tokyo Dome.

The Buffs, who won by the identical score on Sunday -- in part because of Yamasaki’s ninth-inning RBI single -- made a winner out of Hayato Terahara (3-4), who tossed his 10th career complete game. The righty scattered seven hits and two walks, while fanning six.

Rookie Hisayoshi Sawamura (1-3) got no decision after allowing just one run on six hits with a walk and 11 Ks for Yomiuri.

DRAGONS 6, EAGLES 1

Tony Blanco had a first-inning RBI single and added a fourth-inning, two-run homer to help power Chunichi past Rakuten at Nagoya Dome.

Hot-hitting leadoff man Masahiro Araki had two hits to raise his average to .342.

HAWKS 0, SWALLOWS 0

Rain halted a scoreless pitching duel between SoftBank’s Sho Iwasaki and Yakult’s Shohei Tateyama in the fifth inning at Jingu Stadium.

Hanshin and Seibu, and Hiroshima and Lotte were rained out.