Something to brag about …

Murton ties Braggs’ hitting streak as Tigers win

Matt Murton has certainly earned hit his stride.

The Hanshin Tigers import singled to right in a two-run eighth inning, breaking the club record for consecutive games with a hit with his 29th straight and helping the Tigers get important add-on runs in a 6-3 victory over the Yomiuri Giants at the Big Egg on Monday.

Murton, who was 0-for-3 before the at-bat, fouled off two pitches before taking a 2-2 fastball from Satoshi Fukuda into right field. He tied Glenn Braggs for the longest hitting streak by a foreign player here, and sixth longest all-time.

More than that, the Tigers moved two games back of third-place Yomiuri for the final Climax Series playoff spot.

Kyuji Fujikawa retired all three batters in the ninth for his 38th save.

The Tigers were completely stumped -- and held hitless -- by Kentaro Nishimura (7-5) over the first 5.2 innings. They took full advantage of their first hit as Keiichi Hirano slapped a one-out single up the middle in the sixth. After a sacrifice, Hirano came home on Takashi Toritani’s double to the right-center gap, and Takahiro Arai followed with a hard single to left to give Hanshin an instant 2-1 lead.

Nishimura walked Craig Brazell and went from no-no hunting to on-the-bench spectator.

DRAGONS 3, SWALLOWS 0

Daisuke Yamai (3-2) came up clutch again for Chunichi in a late-season situation, firing seven shutout innings in the team’s 17th shutout, second in as many nights, as the Dragons put a 1.5-game distance between themselves and second-place Yakult.

Ryosuke Hirata cracked a two-run homer in the second inning to back Yamai, who doubled and scored in the fifth, as the Dragons moved a season-high 16 games over .500. Yamai, who pitched eight perfect innings in the 2007 Japan Series-clinching victory, scattered seven hits and a walk, fanning five.

BAYSTATRS 3, CARP 0

Futoshi Kobyashi (4-3) tossed seven shutout innings and had a hit as Yokohama blanked host Hiroshima.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

LIONS 12, FIGHTERS 0

Takeya Nakamura made a strong case for MVP, blasting his Japan-high 46th homer, a three-run shot, and added two doubles, while Jose Fernandez also went deep and had a two-bagger as Seibu blanked Nippon Ham at Sapporo Dome.

Hideaki Wakui (9-12) fired seven shutout innings, scattering four hits and two walks with two Ks, and benefitted from big days from Nakamura and Fernandez, who each drove in four.

The homer by Fernandez was his 200th in nine seasons in Japan.

HAWKS 9, BUFFALOES 2

Fourth-year import D.J. Houlton (18-6) went six innings, keeping Orix to a run on seven hits and no walks with a half-dozen Ks as SoftBank cruised at home and wrapped up a NPB-first season with a winning record against all 11 teams.

Houlton, who has won five straight decisions and tied Rakuten’s Masahiro Tanaka atop the PL in wins, is the first foreign hurler to win 18 games in Japan since 1967.
Orix dropped its fifth straight, while SoftBank won its eighth straight and moved 42 games over .500.

EAGLES 6, MARINES 1

Takahiro Shiomi (8-9) tossed seven innings of one-run ball, working around nine hits and a walk with the help of seven Ks as Rakuten downed Lotte at The Kleenex Box.

Takeshi Yamasaki, who won’t be offered a deal next season, had a pinch-hit single for the Eagles in perhaps his last pro game. The veteran, who turns 43 on Nov. 7, wants to continue playing next season.