Roaring back …

Standridge, offensive explosion lifts Tigers past Dragons

The Hanshin Tigers played much of the first half of the season the like they were in captivity.

Now it's a case of, "Who let the Cats out?"

Jason Standridge (8-2) fired his third complete game of the season and Hiroki Ueno doubled and blasted a grand slam as the Tigers ate up the Dragons 9-1 at Koshien Stadium on Wednesday.

The Tigers, JBD’s preseason pick to win the Central League (have since flipped to Yakult Swallows) have come from as many as 11 games under .500 to even their record.

“We struggled for a while from Opening Day, but when the offense started performing better, our winning percentage started to come up,” said skipper Akinobu Mayumi, who had high praise for his starter.

“He had really good movement on his pitches and he kept everything down tonight. I was able to relax [and watch him].”

The right-hander, who lowered his ERA to 1.87 (fourth best in the CL) just praised his teammates.

“They played really good defense behind me and we scored a ton of runs, so it makes it a lot easier to pitch,” said Standridge, who started his career in Japan with the SoftBank Hawks in 2007.

“We’ve been playing great baseball lately and it just makes it easier to pitch,” said Standridge, who was 11-5 last season.

Matt Murton had a single in five at-bats and has hit in 10 straight.

The Dragons, meanwhile, have lost four straight
series and are a season-worst four games under .500.

SWALLOWS 3, CARP 2

Ryuji Aikawa’s RBI hit tied the score in the sixth and pinch-hitter Shinichi Takeuchi later in the frame drove in the eventual winning run with sac fly as Yakult rallied to top Hiroshima at Jingu Stadium.

Rookie righty Yuki Shichijo (3-0) allowed two runs over six innings and three relievers protected the lead, with Lim Chang Yang notching his 20th save.

GIANTS 2, BAYSTARS 0

Kentaro Nishimura (3-0) and four relievers combined on a five-hitter, and Shinnosuke Abe popped his ninth homer, a solo shot in the second inning, to lift Yomiuri past visiting Yokohama.

Michihiro Ogasawara had an RBI double in the fifth for just his 11th run driven in this season.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

FIGHTERS 13, BUFFALOES 5

Recently acquired import Bobby Scales cracked his second grand slam since being acquired on July 2, and Yoshio Itoi had three hits--including a homer--and three RBIs as host Nippon Ham clubbed Orix for the franchise’s 4,000th victory.

The Fighters pounded out a season-high 18 hits, and the 13 runs were also their high-water mark this year. The Fighters, who pulled even with SoftBank in the PL race, scored four in the third and seven in the fourth to blow the game open.

EAGLES 3, HAWKS 1

Ace Hisashi Iwakuma (4-2) fired seven sharp innings in his first start since May 17 to earn his first win since April 26, and Ryo Hijirisawa had three hits and scored all three runs as Rakuten topped SoftBank at FYJ Dome.

Yosuke Takasu also drove in two to back Iwakuma, who allowed five hits, a walk and hit a batter, while fanning four. Darrell Rasner nailed it down with a perfect ninth for his fourth save in as many chances.

LIONS 4, MARINES 1

Kazuyuki Hoashi (5-5) twirled eight innings of one-run ball, surrendering six hits with no walks and three Ks, and Takuya Hara added a sac fly and an RBI double as Seibu swept its three-game home set against Lotte.

It was Hoashi’s first win since May 29.