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Nakamura leads HR barrage as BayStars win 2nd straight

Yokohama fans were finally seeing ’ Stars on Tuesday.

Hitting star Norihiro Nakamura had fans looking skyward twice with his first two-homer game since June 6, 2010, and pitching star Daisuke Miura tossed his fifth complete game of the season in a 6-2 thumping of the visiting Yakult Swallows.

Alex Ramirez blasted his 11th homer as the BayStars won consecutive games for the first time since June 20 [vs. Rakuten] and June 22 [against Hanshin]. Masaaki Koike also went deep in the first four-homer game for Yokohama since June 29 last year.

Miura (8-4) worked through one of the hottest nights of the year, scattering eight hits with no walks and five punchouts.

Nakamura, who turns 39 next week, and Miura, who turns 39 on Christmas Day, shared a few laughs about their collective experience.

“There aren’t many guys my age out there,” Miura joked.

“The old-guy combo got it done,” cracked Nakamura, who had four RBIs.

“I hadn’t been able to hit homers recently but I finally got two tonight. I hope I can get a few more. I seem to hit well when Daisuke is pitching – I’d like to see him on the mound every day,” he said laughing.

Yakult starter Katsuki Akagawa (5-5) took his third straight beating, getting knocked out in fewer than three innings.

GIANTS 4, TIGERS 3

Shinnosuke Abe had a two-run single in the first and Hayato Sakamoto homered with a man on in the third as Yomiuri built a lead and held off Hanshin at Koshien Stadium.

Ryota Arai hit Hanshin’s first homer in 13 games to get it within a run in the fifth, but the Yomiuri bullpen put together 4.1 scoreless innings of relief to protect the lead.

CARP 3, DRAGONS 2

Yoshiyuki Ishihara finished off a three-run rally against Chunichi closer Hitoki Iwase (0-3) with a suicide squeeze bunt to push home the game-winning run as Hiroshima won its fifth straight and creep above .500.

Shota Dobayashi and pinch-hitter Yutaro Mukae got the Carp even with back-to-back RBI singles as Iwase lost his second game in less than a week, and the Dragons fell to 1-10-1 in their last 12 road games.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

EAGLES 6, MARINES 2, 10 INNINGS

Ryo Hijirisawa’s RBI single in the 10th sparked a four-run explosion as Rakuten rallied twice to beat Lotte at The Q.

Ginji Akaminai had three hits and got the Eagles even when he scored on Shintaro Masuda’s a sac fly in the ninth. Masuda added a two-run single in the 10th.

BUFFALOES 2, HAWKS 1

Yuki Nishi (6-2) won his third straight decision over Fukuoka, holding the host to a run over 5.1 innings, and the Orix bullpen held the lead in a win at FYJ Dome.

Aarom Baldiris had an RBI groundout and Lee Dae Ho singled home the only runs for Orix in the third.

FIGHTERS 3, LIONS 1

Masaru Takeda (6-5) twirled eight innings of one-run ball, scattering six hits and a hit batter, and Yoshio Itoi broke a 1-1 tie with his second hit of the game as Nippon Ham beat Seibu at Sapporo Dome.

Itoi drove in Nippon Ham’s first run with a scoring flyball in the first.