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Quiet closer Iwase reaches 300-save milestone

Nippon Pro Baseball’s all-time saves leader speaks very little and rarely shows emotion, but even Hitoki Iwase broke out with huge grin and gave a fist pump after notching his 300th save on Saturday at The Zoom.

Iwase retired the side in order in the Chunichi Dragons’ 5-2 win over the Hiroshima Carp in one of the easier final innings he has worked this season for his 24th save.

The 13th-year lefty got two flyouts and a groundout to end a game that saw starter Kazuki Yoshimi (12-3) exit after just five innings.

The Dragons' second-round pick in 1999, Iwase made the move to the back of the bullpen in 2004 and had immediate impact. He has five 40-plus save seasons.

“Since skipper [Hiromitsu] Ochiai took over, I’ve been in the closer role and I’m glad I’ve been able to put up a number like this,” Iwase said in the hero interview.

Kazuhiro Sasaki, who closed out 129 games with the Seattle Mariners after leaving the Yokohama BayStars, has the record for Japanese players with 381 total saves.

Tony Blanco blasted a three-run homer in the fifth inning, his first since May 23, and added another RBI in the sixth for the fifth Chunichi run.

The bullpen worked four innings, allowing one run to close it out.

SWALLOWS 10, GAINTS 7

Shingo Kawabata had a homer and three RBIs, and Shinichi Takeuchi homered and drove in two as Yakult fought off numerous Yomiuri comebacks to win at Jingo Stadium.

Yoshinori Sato (7-6) left after seven innings of two-run pitching [and an RBI single] and the Swallows allowed four runs before Lim Chang Yong closed it out.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

BUFFALOES 3, FIGHTERS 2

Hayato Terahara (11-7) tossed his fifth complete game of the season, and Takahiro “T.O.” Okada drove in two runs as Orix topped Nippon Ham for its sixth straight win.

Aarom Baldiris drove in the go-ahead run with a sac fly that capped a three-run third.

HAWKS 10, LIONS 7

Hiroki Kokubo had three hits, including his eighth
longball, and drove in four to lead SoftBank back from a five-run deficit for a win over host Seibu.

Kokubo had an RBI single in a six-run fifth that pushed the Hawks into the lead. Takeya Nakamura cracked his Japan-best 36th longball, his third in as many games.

EAGLES 10, MARINES 1

Takeshi Yamasaki went 4-for-4 with a double and three RBIs to lead a 15-hit attack, and Masahiro Tanaka (13-4) fired seven scoreless innings as Rakuten humbled Lotte at The Q.

The Hanshin Tigers and Yokohama BayStars were rained out at Koshien Stadium.