Tiger tale …

Kanemoto hits HR No. 474 to help power Tigers

“Big Brother” took a stick to the Yokohama BayStars on Saturday, reaching yet another milestone to help the Hanshin Tigers to a 7-3 win at Koshien Stadium.

Tomoaki Kanemoto, the man they call Big Brother, moved into a tie with Koichi Tabuchi at 10th all-time in homers by belting No. 474 in the first inning. The three-run shot, which came after Matt Murton’s first hit in eight games and a walk to Keiichi Hirano, was his fourth of the season.

“Tabuchi is the former Tiger with the most home runs, so I’m happy to pull even with him. I hope to move ahead of him as quickly as possible,” Kanemoto was quoted as saying.

The blast pushed Kanemoto one past Katsuo Osugi for eighth on the all-time list in RBIs with 1,508. It was also the 225th pitcher he has taken deep, the second-highest number all-time.

Craig Brazell smacked a homer in the third, a two-run shot to give him seven this season, and the Tigers staked lefty Atsushi Nomi (5-5) to a big enough lead. Nomi held the BayStars to three runs over seven innings for his first win since May 27.

CARP 3, DRAGONS 1

Kenta Maeda (7-3) scattered six hits and three walks over seven innings, and Shota Dobayashi homered for the third straight game for the first time in his young career as Hiroshima topped host Chunichi.

Soichiro Amaya had three hits, including an RBI single in the fourth, and Takahiro Iwamoto also had an RBI hit to pace the Carp.

GIANTS 7, SWALLOWS 4

Ryuichi Kajimae came off the bench and drove in two runs, and Shinnosuke Abe tripled, doubled and drove in a run as Yomiuri overcame Wladimir Balentine’s third homer in two days to down Yakult at Tokyo Dome.

Hisayoshi Chono had three hits, including the go-ahead RBI in the fifth, and Kentaro Nishimura shut the door in the ninth for his 14th save.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

HAWKS 7, FIGHTERS 6

Kenji Akashi had two hits and three RBIs, and Yuichi Honda capped a four-run eighth with an RBI go-ahead double as SoftBank rallied from a 6-1 deficit to beat Nippon Ham at FYJ Dome.

Fourth-year righty Kim Muyon (1-1) picked up his first pro win with a scoreless eighth, and Masahiro Morifuku slammed the door in the ninth a 1-2-3 inning for his eighth save.

LIONS 5, BUFFALOES 2

Fumiya Nishiguchi (5-1) went six strong innings, holding Orix to two runs on five hits and five walks to earn his ninth straight win over the Buffaloes and his career 182nd victory as Seibu got ahead early and protected the lead at home.

Tatsuyuki Uemoto drew a bases-loaded walk, Esteban German singled in two and two other drove in runs for a five-run first as Seibu won again without Takeya Nakamura. Hideaki Wakui notched his third save with a perfect ninth.

EAGLES 2, MARINES 1

Jose Fernandez and Toshiya Nakashima drove in both runs in the first inning, and Kelvin Jimenez (3-7) went 5.1 innings before five relievers held onto a one-run lead as Rakuten edged Lotte at The Kleenex Box.

It was the first win for Jimenez since May 4 -- he had lost four straight decisions.