Chunichi starter Shigeki Noguchi lasted only 1.2 innings before being roasted alive for eight runs, all earned, on eight hits. Then four relievers couldn't hold the line, either, with rookie Satoru Ishikawa being tattooed for a six spot in his two innings of toil.

The Dragons grabbed a brief lead in the first when third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami, back after sitting out from the effects of being hit by a pitch last week, shivved a curve ball into the rightfield stands to make it 1-0. 

Noguchi retired three of the four men he faced in the bottom of the first and then saw batterymate Motonobu Tanishige sock one into the centerfield bleachers in the second to widen his team's advantage to 2-0. 

The momentum wouldn't then just shift, it would crush the Nagoya side under its weight. With two outs in the home turn, rightfielder Atsunori Inaba mortared a slider into the umbrella oendan in right. Shortstop Yoshiyuki Noguchi laced a shot up the rightcenter gap for a triple. Masanori Ishikawa parachuted one near the line in left for an RBI single and a 2-2 tie. Centerfielder Munehiro Shida singled to center. Second baseman Katsuyuki Dobashi beat out a little infield roller to load the bases. Third baseman Akinori Iwamura, 5-22 during the string of defeats, had his bat sawed off, but dropped it into center to plate two. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez singled to left for an RBI. First baseman Ken Suzuki spanked a single to left as well and propelled Iwamura across. Akira Miyakoshi replaced Noguchi. Catcher Atsuya Furuta, like a former batting champion should, took a pitch heading toward the outer half of the plate and drilled it into the leftcenterfield seats to make it 9-2 and tie a record for a single team in one inning with nine consecutive safeties. 

They went into double digits in the third when Masanori Ishikawa singled to center with one out and reliever Shinichiro Koyama walked both Shida and Dobashi. Iwamura singled to right to bring Ishikawa in for a 10-2 edge. 

Chunichi got it back in the fourth, as rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome singled to center with one out, went to third on a single to center by centerfielder Alex Ochoa and crossed on a grounder to short off the bat of leftfielder Takayuki Onishi to reduce the deficit to 10-3.

But Furuta singled to open the bottom segment and, one out later, Yoshiyuki Noguchi belted his second career homer and his first since 
going yard in his debut pro at bat four years ago to enhace the Swallows advantage to 12-3.

That would just be a warmup for the fifth. Both Dobashi and Iwamura each singled to center. Ramirez walked to juice the bags. Suzuki singled to center for a pair and Furuta did likewise to cash Ramirez in. Inaba dared to be different and singled to left to welcome Suzuki home. Noguchi singled to center to score two and it was a joke at 18-3. What is really amazing is that Masanori Ishikawa then sacrificed!
If this was MLB, that would get him a ball up near his chin the next time he came to the plate. 

In the eighth, Iwamura and Ramirez capped off the fireworks with bombs to center and left respectively that made it 20-3.

Chunichi at least reconstituted some of their dignity when they assembled for a four run revolt in the ninth on a two out double to right by Ochoa, a double into the rightfield corner by Onishi that drove Ochoa in, a walk to backup leftfielder Teppei Tsuchiya, a two bagger off the leftfield wall by pinch hitter Hidenori Kuramoto that saw Onishi in and a two run single by reserve catcher Yuichi Yanagisawa that shrunk the disparity to 20-7. Finally, shortstop Hirokazu Ibata grounded out to short and this one was a memory. 

So let's total up the damage: Iwamura, Noguchi and Furuta each had four RBIs while Suzuki had three and Inaba and Ramirez two apiece. Iwamura went 4-6 to raise his average to .287. Furuta and Noguchi were 3-5.  Five others had two knocks. Every man in the starting lineup had at least one basehit. 

Dragons skipper Hiromitsu Ochiai, when asked about this massacre, remarked, "it happens. I just don't need any more of them."

In attempt to assuage the gods their way, somebody fromthe Swallows organization sprinkled salt in their dugout before the game as a kind of purification rite. SImilar things are done in sumo and after funerals in Japan. But they took it a step further when the their uniforms were laundered with a little salt added. Now that's a new twist!

The Yakult record for most runs in a game is 22, set on July 13, 1955 against Hiroshima at Kawasaki Stadium. They also set the club mark for hits at that time with 25. 
 

Photo:  Kazuyoshi Tatsunami Gets on Top of the Ball and Gone

Photo:  Atsuya Furuta Goes With the Pitch for a Homer

Yokohama starter Yuji Yoshimi wasn't really up to the job, either, as he was hurt for four runs on five hits in 5.2 innings. The loss, though, was hung on reliever Eddie Gaillard, when he was mugged for three tallies on two hits, a walk and a hit batsman in his one inning on the hill. Gaillard's numbers are pretty brutal right now (1-2 with a save and tagged for nine runs on 12 hits, two homers, in nine total innings) and the Stars need him to step it up to have a chance of competing for the CL flag. 

Yomiuri pulled ahead in the second when first baseman Roberto Petagine singled to left with one away and third baseman Akira Etoh thundered an 0-1 fastball on the inner half into the leftfield bleachers for a 2-0 Giants lead. 

But Kuwata's control issues in the third would neutralize the advantage. Third baseman Shinichi Murata walked. Catcher Takeshi Nakamura singled to center. Kuwata committed the cardinal sin and walked Yoshimi to load the bases. He also free passed shortstop Takuro Ishii to force Murata in. Second baseman Seiichi Uchikawa lined out to Etoh, who doubled Yoshimi off of second. Leftfielder Takahiro Saeki then unleashed a bullet off the rightfield wall to usher Nakamura in on a long single. Tyrone Woods flew out and it stayed a 2-2 deadlock.

In the sixth, though, Yomiuri leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu doubled to rightcenter and centerfielder Tuffy Rhodes walked. One out later, Petagine walked to jam the basepaths. Etoh torched a double into the leftfield corner and Shimizu and Rhodes galloped home to make it 4-2
Giants. Abe walked up to the batter's box,  but popped out. Yoshimi was removed in favor of Takeo Kawamura. Mototsugu Kawanaka grounded out to Kawamura to strand the other two runners and keep it a two run game.

Kuwata's pitch count wasn't outrageous and Yomiuri's bullpen stinks, so you can't blame manager Tsuneo Horiuchi for praying that his starter could make it through seven. It wasn't to be. Leftfielder Takanori Suzuki reached on an infield hit. One out later, Masakuni Odajima, pinch hitting for Nakamura,  pancaked a double off the leftfield wall. Maeda spelled Kuwata. Pinch hitter Hitoshi Taneda flew out to left and Suzuki tagged up and hustled home. Ishii singled to left and Odajima scored to even it up at 4-4. Misawa then entered and induced a foul out from Uchikawa. 

Yokohama helmsman Daisuke Yamashita waved Gaillard in to begin the eighth and he walked Rhodes. Rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi collided one off the rightfield fence and was thrown out at second trying for the double, Rhodes motoring to third. Petagine flew out to left and Rhodes tagged up and ran in with the lead tally. Gaillard plunked Etoh. Abe then got a 1-0 fastball on the inner portion of the plate and
parked it in the rightfield seats to hike the Yomiuri hegemony up to 7-4. 

A Hiroki Kokubo single and errors by Murata and Uchikawa would get the Giants an extra run in the ninth for the final margin of victory,
Hideki Okajima putting away all three men he encountered to turn out the lights. 

Murata has to be the streakiest player in Japan right now. The first week of the season, he looked like the second coming of Futoshi Nakanishi, but hasn't been able to do much since. He was like that last season, cooling off severely after ripping a bunch of homers and being sentenced to the minors before coming back and blasting several more into oblivion. 
 

Photo: Washed Up Idol Singer Seiko Matsuda Throws Out the First Pitch

There is no projected timetable for when righthander Hideki Irabu may be back. "It will depend on him," said a Tigers coach. Irabu requested to be sent down to the minors after being hammered in his first three starts. His velocity and location have been terrible and 
unless there is a big improvement soon, retirement may be looming 

With his successful outing in the three hole Sunday, second baseman Makoto Imaoka will apparently be left there for now. The all star is hitting a robust .412 with runners in scoring position. Centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi will bat leadoff and is expected to ramp up his running opportunities. He currently has six steals. 

Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto is usually a pussycat at the plate in the first half and then turns into a firebreathing monster following the all star break, which is why Okada isn't going to move him out of the cleanup role. "He's overswinging and trying to pull that outside pitch
right now," the ex-infielder averred. "He'll improve soon."
 

In Tokyo Metropolitan University League action, Tokyo Keizai University hurler Masayuki Oshio tossed a no hitter against Tskuba University Monday in Hiratsuka. Oshio walked six and struckout six in the 1-0 victory. He is the 13th man in league annals to render the opposition hitless and it is the 14th no no overall in that circuit. 

St. Louis outfielder So Taguchi was inserted into Monday's game against the Cubs in the seventh and went 0-1, lining out to short. The

Chicago White Sox reliever Shingo Takatsu faced one hitter Monday against Baltimore at Camden Yards in the eighth and on a 1-0 pitch, he left an 85mph fastball right in the hitter's happy zone with two on and it was crushed. However, with the cold night air, the ball didn't carry very well and it was caught right in front of the 364 foot sign in left by Carlos Lee for the third out to hold on to a 5-2 lead. Whew!

Mets shortstop Kazuo Matsui hurt his right wrist during the series with the Dodgers. The team was off Monday, giving the speedster a much needed rest. "It's almost healed up. No problem!" he said. However, he may be given Tuesday off, too, ending his consecutive games streak.