NISHINOMIYA, HYOGO PREF. – Shota Imanaga threw a four-hitter on Thursday, leading the Yokohama BayStars to a 6-0 victory over the Hanshin Tigers.
Imanaga (9-5) issued one walk, while striking out four in a 124-pitch effort for the BayStars at Koshien Stadium. He also singled and scored a run in the BayStars’ four-run ninth inning.
Jose Lopez put the visitors in front by singling in No. 9 hitter Yamato Maeda in the third inning. Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, Yokohama’s slugging No. 2 hitter, reached base three times and scored an insurance run in the sixth. Tsutsugo also singled in a run in the ninth.
The BayStars’ win moved them to within 5-1/2 games of the Central League-leading Yomiuri Giants.
Swallows 8, Giants 1
At Gifu’s Nagaragawa Stadium, journeyman lefty Hiroki Yamada (3-0) allowed a run over five innings, while Wladimir Balentien drove in three runs and homered for the fourth straight game as Tokyo Yakult defeated Yomiuri.
Carp 11, Dragons 4
At Hiroshima’s Mazda Stadium, newly acquired Takumi Miyoshi opened the scoring in the second inning with a two-run home run, one of Hiroshima’s three on the night, in a rout of Chunichi.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
Marines 7, Hawks 4
At Fukuoka’s Yafuoku Dome, Brandon Laird homered for the third straight game and Seiya Inoue homered twice as Chiba Lotte defeated Fukuoka SoftBank.
Lions 5, Eagles 1
At Sendai’s Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi, Wataru Matsumoto (5-2) allowed a run over six innings, while Ernesto Mejia went 3-for-3 with an RBI double and a home run in Seibu’s triumph over Tohoku Rakuten.
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Source : Baseball – The Japan Times