Draw me a river …

Lions rally but Marines leave without a loss

[Went to Seibu Dome as a fan today! Sat on Lotte side…]

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama -- The Seibu Lions have a lot of issues, but they’re not a bad team. The Lotte Marines have a lot of speed, but the jury is still out on whether this club is playoff worthy.

Lotte rookie lefty Takahiro Fujioka looked good for three innings, and veteran Seibu righty Fumiya Nishiguchi was all wrong at the start of what ended up being a 4-4 tie on Sunday at Seibu Dome.

Fujioka was staked to a 4-1 lead through two innings, but got knocked out in the fourth when he put a collection of runners on the bases with none out. The pen couldn’t keep the tying runs from scoring but kept the score even.

Fujioka was charged with four runs, three earned.

Nishiguchi -- who is still winless this season -- almost got an early hook, allowing four runs in the second inning, but managed to dance through six frames and give the Lions a chance to rally.

The home team scrambled for three runs in the fourth, Yasuyuki Kataoka slapping in the tying runs with a single, and had last year’s homer king at the plate and the go-ahead run 90 feet away with one out.

But Seibu failed to get another run before the 3.5-hour time limit sent the 26,891 home without a decision.

The Lions, who had three players hitting below .200 in the starting lineup, have struggled to find their form. That made this draw seem somewhat of a victory for them. The Marines, who have gotten strong starting pitching all season, weren’t able to protect an early lead or produce with runners in scoring position.

HAWKS 7, EAGLES 3

Wily Mo Pena smacked his seventh longball and Nobuhiro Matsuda added a homer, a triple and an RBI single for two RBIs as SoftBank slapped around Rakuten at FYJ Dome.


FIGHTERS 4, BUFFALOES 3

Atsunori Inaba’s RBI single in the sixth broke a 3-3 tie and third-year righty Hirotoshi Masui recorded his first pro save -- with closer Hisashi Takeda shelved -- and Nippon Ham won at Sapporo Dome.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

BAYSTARS 4, DRAGONS 2

Yoshitomo Tsutsugo slugged a pair of homers, including a three-run shot in the first inning, for four RBIs, and Yuki Kuniyoshi (1-3) went 5.1 strong innings for his second career win [first since Oct. 4] as Yokohama got past Chunichi to win its third straight.

Masahiro Yamamoto (2-1), 46, took the loss for Chunichi against Kuniyoshi, 20, for the largest age difference between opposing starters in NPB history.

CARP 6, SWALLOWS 0

Akihiro Higashide had three hits and an RBI, and Yoshihiro Maru smashed a two-run homer in the ninth to add insurance in support of a dominant three-hit shutout effort over seven innings for Kenta Maeda (4-2) as Hiroshima blanked host Yakult.

GIANTS 2, TIGERS 1

Hirokazu Sawamura (2-3) went 7.2 scoreless innings, and Kazunari Sanematsu’s RBI single in the second proved to be the difference as Yomiuri topped Hanshin at Koshien.