The game was only two hitters old before the Tigers were in front, as leadoff man Norihiro Akahoshi reached on an infield hit, stole second and then put it in cruise control for home when shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto brought severe pain to a 2-2 hanging breaking ball and deposited it in the rightfield seats 405 feet away to make it 2-0. 

But the Giants neutralized that in the home portion when second baseman Toshihisa Nishi got aboard on an error by third baseman Mike Kinkade and, one out later, centerfielder Tuffy Rhodes creamed one into the centerfield bleachers to knot it at 2-2. It also lengthened the team's homer streak to 32 games. 

Randel and Kubota both settled in and each avoided any more scoring after minor scrapes through four. But in the fifth, Randel walked with two outs. On the third pitch with Fujimoto up, he stole second. Fujimoto subsequently walked. Second baseman Makoto Imaoka then battled Randel for ten pitches before ramming a single to center to plate Akahoshi. Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto got a 1-1 88mph fastball on the inner half of the plate and just murdered it, crashing it off of a billboard for a vitamin drink above the rightcenterfield seats more than 500 feet away to put Hanshin in front 6-2. 

Yomiuri grabbed one of those runs back in the bottom version when Takahiro Suzuki, pinch hitting for Randel,  walked and was erased on a 5-4 force off of a ground ball by Nishi. One out later, Rhodes singled to right. Rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi singled to center to usher Nishi in and make it 6-3. 

In the sixth, Yomiuri catcher Shinnosuke Abe torqued a 1-0 forkball on the outer half of the plate and lashed it into the leftcenterfield stands with one out. Following another out, Koji Goto  singled to center. Nishi carromed a double off the centerfield wall and Goto, going on contact, rumbled all the way around to the plate. Hirotaka Egusa replaceed Kubota. Leftfielder Takayuki Shimizu singled to left to redeem Nishi and it was 6-6. Rhodes thumped a shot off the rightfield wall for a double. Takahashi walked to load the bases. But Roberto Petagine flied out to left to strand the runners. 

Then a bizarre incident marred the evening. Just as Okajima was completing his warmups pitches, a drunken fan ran down to the front of the box seats at the back of the first base dugout , climbed over the wire netting, and plopped onto the dugout roof. He then either fell or dove
toward the field, did a face plant in front of Yomiuri manager Tsuneo Horiuchi and began bleeding from the nose all over the place. He had to be loaded onto a gurney and, accompanied by police, was taken to a nearby hospital. 

When the game resumed, Hanshin rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama singled to right with one out. Arias unloaded a screamer that bounced off the base of the centerfield wall. Rhodes tried to barehand it as it came off and before he could get a sure grip on it and get the ball back to the infield, Arias had his first triple since August, 2002 and the Tigers were ahead 7-6. 

Jeff Williams entered from the pen and obtained two quick outs before walking Rhodes. Takahashi singled to left. Petagine, though, struckout. 

Yuya Ando was appointed closer for the night and gave up a one out single in the ninth to Abe. Akira Etoh walked. But Daisuke Motoki struckout and Nishi popped out to put it in the books. Hanshin has now won four straight against the Giants in Yomiuri's house, the first time that has occurred since 1962.

Kinkade was hit on a ring finger by Okajima in that eighth inning and was diagnosed with a fracture afterward. He will need to wear a splint
on it. He hasn't been taken off the roster as yet, though. The former Dodger now has 12 HBP and is a threat to shatter the all time Japanese record of 24 by Yoshiyuki Iwamoto of the Taiyo Whales back in 1952. 

Giants slugger Kazuhiro Kiyohara made his first appearance in three games and struckout. 

On Randel, a Giants pitching coach commented, "if you look at his career, he's actually done pretty well. I'd like to see him start at least one more game."

Arias and Kanemoto continue their rampages against Yomiuri this season, as Kanemoto is batting .364 against them and half of his eight homers and 12 of his 23 RBIs have come in faceoffs with the kyojin.  Arias is 9-26 with three homers and eight RBIs in Giants tilts. 
 

Photo:  George Arias Rips Big Triple to Center Tuesday

Domingo Guzman started for Chunichi and despite being tagged for nine hits, allowed only two runs in six innings, though neither he nor Yakult starter Masanori Ishikawa (7.0 IP 6 H 3 R) would be around for the decision. 

Yakult presented the initial  threat of the game in the first inning on one out singles to left by second baseman Katsuyuki Dobashi and third baseman Akinori Iwamura, but leftfielder Alex Ramirez and first baseman Ken Suzuki each whiffed to spoil it. 

The Swallows would break the scoreless deadlock in the third when centerfielder Atsunori Inaba doubled down the rightfield line with one out and Dobashi singled to right. Iwamura hooked one off the rightfield wall for a long single to plate Inaba with the 1-0 lead.

Next time up, Yakult used a two out double off the leftfield wall by Martin and a double to leftcenter by shortsstop Yoshiyuki Noguchi to make it 2-0. 

They upped that to 3-0 in the seventh off of reliever Akifumi Takahashi.  Dobashi singled to left, Iwamura walked and Ramirez pounded one off the leftfield wall for a long RBI single. 

Chunichi rebelled against this state of affairs during their ups, as third baseman Kazuyoshi Tatsunami singled to center and rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome clobbered one into the rightfield seats. One out later, Kazuki Inoue singled to left and catcher Motonobu Tanishige doubled up the leftcenter alley, Inoue blazing to the plate to equalize it at three all. One out later, Hiroyuki Watanabe singled to right. Tanishige made the turn for home. Martin got to the ball and fired a strike to Atsuya Furuta, who held on to it after applying the tag and being bowled over by Tanishige to preserve the tie. 

In the eighth, the Dragons had men on first and second with two outs, but centerfielder Alex Ochoa went down on strikes to kill off that opportunity. They also had a man in scoring position in the ninth and couldn't bring him home, either, so it went into extra innings.

Yakult backup outfielder Shida lined a one out triple to the centerfield wall in the tenth. One out later, Watarai steered a shuuto on the outside corner to right and the Swallows had the upper hand 4-3.

Righthander Ryota Igarashi jogged in from the pen and retired three of the four men he saw in the bottom segment to save it. Yakult has tekan all five of its five most recent battles with Chunichi. 

It is the first time since 2000 that Chunichi has plummeted to the CL cellar. 

Watarai, who has had a tenuous hold on a roster spot with the Swallows the last couple of seasons, is 4-9 as a pinch hitter this season. 
 

Photo:  Kosuke Fukudome Tuesday

Pete Walker started for Yokohama and was removed after just four innings and surrendering all four Carp tallies on five hits to get hung with the loss. 

Shima gave Hiroshima a quick lead, as he belted one into the rightcenterfield bleachers with one out in the first for a 1-0 lead. It was also Shima's first homer in nine games and 40 at bats. 

The Stars loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame on shortstop Takuro Ishii's single to center, a one out infield hit by centerfielder Katsuaki Furuki and a walk to first baseman Tyrone Woods, but leftfielder Takahiro Saeki flied out to right and rightfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo fouled out to the catcher to frustrate the rally.

Hiroshima notched its other three scores in the fourth, as shortstop Larry Sheets homered to leftcenter and leftfielder Tomonori Maeda singled near the line in right. One out later, third baseman Kenjiro Nomura socked a Walker delivery into the rightfield standsand it was 4-0 Carp.

Yokohama had two men on and nobody out thanks to a single and an error in their part of the fourth only to see that evaporate when the next two men strcukout and the third popped up to second. 

But in the fifth, Ishii howitzered a Takahashi offering into the rightfield bleachers to make it 4-1 Hiroshima.

Takahashi perhaps faced his greatest challenge in the seventh, when catcher Takeshi Nakamura and backup second baseman Takashi Manei each singled to right to then bring up the meat part of the Yokohama order. However, second baseman Seichi Uchikawa grounded to Takahashi, Furuki struckout and Woods also slapped a comebacker and that was that.

The Stars had one last chance in the ninth against closer of themoment Shinji Sasaoka. Nakamura singled to center. Two outs later, Furuki singled to right. Woods dug in with the chance to tie it up, but he grounded to short and the Carp pocketed the W. 

Coming in, Shima had been 5-27 (.185) for the month of May. So that makes him 7-31 now for a slightly more respectable .226 average. 

Hiroshima starting second baseman Greg LaRocca experienced pain down his rightside running to first during his first at bat and came out of the game after his at bat in the third. He is day to day. 

Ishii was spiked by Shima on a steal attempt in the third and had to come out midway through the game, too. ultimately requiring three stitches to close the wound. 

New York Mets shortstop Kazuo Matsui is back on the upswing, doubling twice against Arizona Tuesday at (financial institution) Ballpark in four at bats in a 9-5 defeat. He is now batting .252. 

Seattle outfielder Ichiro Suzuki went 1-6 Tuesday against Carlos Silva and the Minnesota Twins to sink his average to .290. Shigetoshi Hasegawa also was involved and blew a four run lead on two hits and two walks to tie it at 6-6. The Twins then won it in extra innings 7-6. 

Meiji University ace Yasuhiro Ichiba made a relief appearance Tuesday against Rikkyo University and gave up the tying run when he forced in a runner on an HBP. It went into extra innings and he eventually picked up his 21st win as a collegian. He passed 

St. Louis outfielder So Taguchi entered Tuesday's game as a defensive replacement and then singled to right in his one at bat. 

Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui was 0-4 Tuesday against Anaheim
with a walk. He just  missed unloading a grand slam in the fifth, flying out near the wall in right. He is now at .291. The Yankees won it in extra innings 8-7 to end the Angels' nine game winning streak. 

Dodgers lefty Kazuhisa Ishii was scheduled to start Thursday against the Cubs, but had that moved back by a couple of days after experiencing abdominal pain. He also had the same pain after a start against Florida on the sixth. X-rays were negative and Ishii himself says it won't be a problem in his next appearance.