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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Some rights reserved.
Swallows rebound, knock Tigers back a notch
On the day the Yakult Swallows had to deactivate closer Lim Chang Yong, Kazuhiro Hatakeyama and starter Yoshinori Sato gave the relievers some relief.
Hatakeyama singled in two to cap a five-run second inning and ripped a two-run homer in the fourth as the Central League front-runners beat up on the Hanshin Tigers 8-2 Saturday at Jingu Stadium.
Sato (6-4) tossed a 140-pitch complete game, allowing two runs on six hits -- with a walk and a hit batter -- for his second complete game of the season.
Hiroyasu Tanaka also had two hits for the Swallows, who lead the Tigers by five games. Hatakeyama said he enjoys being the hero because he goes home and soaks up “praise from my wife.”
Meanwhile, Lim was taken off the active roster because of a bad back. Swallows skipper Junji Ogawa said, “I hope he comes back after 10 days [the minimum a deactivated player must spend off the first team], but I don’t know the extent of it, so I really can’t say exactly.”
GIANTS 5, CARP 2
Hisayoshi Chono’s tiebreaking two-run triple boosted host Yomiuri past Hiroshima, lifting the Giants out of a virtual tie with the Carp for third in the CL.
DRAGONS 4, BAYSTARS 2
Masaaki Koikie put Chunichi on the board early and second-year pro Shohei Oshima ripped his first career homer as the Dragons topped host Yokohama.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
HAWKS 4, FIGHTERS 0
Toshiya Sugiuchi (7-3) fanned 11 for his 48th double-digit strikeout game, tops among active pitchers, and held host Nippon Ham to two hits for his third shutout of the season, 17th of his career, to lead visiting SoftBank.
Loser Masaru Takdea (9-7) suffered his seventh shutout loss. He has appeared in eight shutout losses for the Fighters, who fell 3.5 games back of the Hawks.
LIONS 2, BUFFALOES 1
Jose Fernandez drove in the eventual game-winner with a single in the sixth inning that broke a 1-1 tie, and Fumiya Nishiguchi (5-6) and four relievers handcuffed Orix as Seibu won at Kyocera Dome.
EAGLES 4, MARINES 1
Masahiro Tanaka (11-4) tossed one-run ball, allowing five hits and a walk in a career-low 97-pitch complete game, and Daisuke Kusano had three hits, including a go-ahead RBI single in a three-run eighth as host Rakuten downed Lotte.