Yuya Kubo started for Yomiuri and tossed six tenacious and tension filled innings of two run ball on nine hits and 106 pitches. However, he didn't get a decision due to Hanshin starter Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi finding some of his 2003 form and shutting the Giants down on a run and six hits in seven innings for his strongest outing of the year to date. 

The Tigers went out to a 1-0 lead in the first when centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi singled to left and was erased on a 3-6 groundout off 
the bat of shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto. One out later, leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto lasered a shot up the leftcenter gap for a double and Fujimoto activated the afterburners and blazed home on the double. 

In the fourth, Kanemoto looped a double to left and went to third on a groundout. One out later, third baseman Takashi Toritani took a 1-2 fastball on the inner half of  the plate and rolled it through the area between first and second and into right for his first hit in 25 days to make it 2-0 Tigers.

In his next at bat in the sixth, Kanemoto struckout, but rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama singled to center and first baseman Kentaro Sekimoto singled to left. Toritani walked to load the bases. However, Kubo put the boot in and fanned catcher Akihiro Yano and Shimoyanagi to keep 
it at 2-0.

The Giants finally borke through Shimoyanagi's defenses in the seventh when third baseman Hiroki Kokubo pounded one into the centerfield seats to make it 2-1 Hanshin.

Jerrod Riggan retired three of the four men he faced in the eighth and handed it off to Jeff Williams, who had an ERA of 0.63 coming in. With one away, rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi, who has been going the other way a lot lately, singled to left. First baseman Roberto Petagine struckout. Williams went full to Kokubo and then left one in the former Daiei slugger's wheelhouse, the ball landing in the leftcenterfield bleachers to pull the Giants in front 3-2. It was also Kokubo's sixth bomb in his last six games. Williams then nailed catcher Shinnosuke Abe with a pitch before inducing a groundout from shortstop Tomohiro Nioka to bring the curtain down on the inning. Williams' ERA is now 1.76. 

George Arias, still hampered by a bad hamstring, went up to pinch hit for Williams and spanked a single to right off of Brian Sikorsky. He was pinch run for by Koji Hirashita, who would stay in the game and play right. He moved over to second on a one out groundout and then
motored home thanks to Mr. Clutch, second basmean Makoto Imaoka, pancaking a double off the rightfield wall to knot it at 3-3. Kanemoto was up now and manager Tsuneo Horiuchi made a no brainer of a decision and intentionaly walked him. Hiyama flew out and it went into bonus time.

Ando was greeted with pinch hitter Daisuke Motoki tattooing his slider into the leftfield stands. One out later, Suzuki and leftfielder Tuffy Rhodes singled to center. Takahashi fouled out. Petagine walked and the bags were juiced. Kokubo was next, but he grounded to short and now Hanshin was going to have to play catch up again. 

Junichi Kawahara was inserted to try to close it out. Sekimoto walked and was sacrificed to second. Yano popped out to Abe for the second out. Hirashita grounded one into the hole between third and short. Nioka made a diving stop and gunnned it to first, but Hirashita beat the peg. Akahoshi laced a 1-0 fastball into the leftcenter alley. The speedster Suzuki got on his horse and dove for it, but the ball tipped off of the end of his glove and the runners both headed homeward, Hirashita crossing without a play for a thrilling 5-4 triumph. 

In the last five years, Kawahara is 1-1 in extra inning games with Hanshin, as is his teammate, Masumi Kuwata. Overall, they are 6-6-2 
over that period when it went more than nine against their Osaka rivals. As ai side note, retired former Hanshin reliever Minoru Kasai was 1-3 in such games dating from 2000. 

It was Akahoshi's fifth career sayonara knock and his second this season. 

Motoki's circuit clout was his first since April 2nd. He had been 0-9 in the first two games of the series before getting some special hitting instruction behind closed doors that ultimately proved effective. 

Hanshin has won its first four series with Yomiuri for the first time since 1962, a year in which they won their first CL flag. 

Pete Walker started for Yokohama and was in trouble the entirety of his five innings on the hill, during which he was tagged for four runs on eight hits and three walks to accept blame for the defeat.

Chunichi loaded the bases in the first on a single and two walks with two outs, but leftfielder Kazuki Inoue flied out to center to sabotage the uprising.

In the third inning, Walker was touched for two hits and a walk, but that was sandwiched around a double play ball and so that endeavor came to nought as well.

But in the fourth, first baseman Masahiko Morino singled to center and Tanishige crushed an 81mph hanging changeup into the leftfield seats to put the Dragons ahead 2-0. 

Next time up, the Dragons did something similar, except the names were changed to enhance the prestige of the guilty. Tatsunami singled to center but was out on a groundout by rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome to first baseman Tyrone Woods, who threw to shortstop Takuro 
Ishii at second for the out. Ochoa then belted one into the leftcenterfield bleachers and it was 4-0 Chunichi.

They had men on first and second with one out and didn't make anything happen in the sixth. 

Yokohama finally got on the big board in the seventh when centerfielder Hitoshi Tamura singled to left and, two outs later, leftfielder Takanori Suzuki grounded to Morino, who let the ball get through him and Tamura sprinted to the plate to makr it 4-1 Dragons.

That would be a futile gesture, though, as Tanishige commenced the eighth with a single to center and pinch hitter Teppei Tsuchiya singled to left. Second baseman Masahiro Araki singled to center to load the bases. Shortstop Hirokazu Ibata flew out to right and Tanishige tagged up and crossed. Tatsunami collected his 423rd lifetime double to send Tsuchiya in and pass Sadaharu Oh on the all time two baggers list. Fukudome singled to center and Araki and Tasunami were in with an 8-1 advantage. 

Yokohama scored its final run inthe ninth when Dragons reliever Kenta Asakura walked second baseman Seiichi Uchikawa, who went to second on a wild pitch. Woods singled to center for the RBI and that is how it ended, 8-2. 

Walker passed Hanshin lefty Kei Igawa for most homers given up with 15. 

Tanishige had his first career five hit game. 

Hirai left the game early due to feeling a twinge in his back at the end of the stanza. He thinks his back stiffened up due to the 55 degree weather. 
 

Photo:  Kazuyoshi Tatsunami's Record Setting Double

In that disastrous first inning for Ishido, he plunked centerfielder Koichi Ogata to open things and rightfielder Shigenobu Shima doubled down the rightfield line. Second baseman Greg LaRocca mortared one into the centerfield seats and it was 3-0. Shortstop Andy Sheets singled to center. Leftfielder Tomonori Maeda and first baseman Kenta Kurihara walked to load the bases. Swallows manager Tsutomu Wakamatsu signaled reliever Masaru Sato in. Third baseman Kenjiro Nomura grounded to Ken Suzuki, who, in hoping to get the double play, forgot to catch the ball for a run scoring error. Ishihara singled to right to bring Maeda in. Kawauchi grounded to second and Kurihara crossed to make it 6-0. Ogata singled to center and two more scurried in to swell the lead to 8-0.

Yakult had two on with one out in the second and left them out there. But in the third, Miyamoto reached on an infield hit with one out. Third baseman Akinori Iwamura singled to right. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez singled to center to cash Miyamoto in and make it 8-1. That would be the last anywone would see of Miyamoto on the field, as his hamstring started bothering him and Yoshiyuki Noguchi replaced him when they went out to play defense at the end of the inning. 

Masato Hanada came on to pitch the bottom of the third and Nomura singled to center and Ishihara took a pitch off of his body and went to first. Kawauchi grounded one right in front of the plate and catcher Atsuya Furuta went to third for the force. Hanada hit Ogata with a delivery to jam the basepaths. Shima smoked a double to rightcenter and chased two home on the double. Hanada threw a wild pitch to let in another. One out later, Sheets singled to center for the RBI and a 12-1 advantage. 

The Carp then played longball again, as catcher Yoshiyuki Ishihara reached on an infield hit, went to second on a sacrifce (???) and jogged in on the front end of Ogata's howitzer shot into the centerfield stands that made it 14-1. 

In the fifth, Sheets walked with one down and, one out later, Kurihara drilled one into the leftcenterfield seats off of Tatsuki Yamamoto and it was 16-1. 

Yakult then posted its second and final run in the sixxth when Suzuki went yard to left to make it 16-2. 

But in the bottom of the inning, Toshihide Narimoto would have his turn at being bullied when Ishihara singled to center, Kawauchi laid down another sac bunt (????!!!!!) and ended up safe to first when Narimoto made a tardy attempt at forcing Ishihara at second. Ogata singled to center for his fourth RBI. Shima doubled to rightcenter for two more and a 19-2 lead. LaRocca was then hit by a pitch, which he felt was intentional. therwe would be no more hits from that point on by either side and this laugher creaked to a close to terminate Hiroshima's four game losing skein. 

It was the first time in five years that Yakult had surrendered 19 runs , that time being when it yielded a team worst 22 runs. 

Kawauchi was clocked at 88mph. 

For Shima, it was his seventh three hits or more game of the year. 
 

Photo:  Koichi Ogata Slides Home Amid a Cloud of Dust

Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki had a single to right in 
four at bats Sunday against Detroit in a victory at (insurance company) Field. His average declined to .325. 

Photo:  Ichiro Suzuki Takes a Knee High Pitch to Right

Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui was 3-5 Sunday against Texas at the Ballpark in Arlington to raise his average to .292 in an 8-3 win.
It is his third three hit game on the season. Two of the knocks were doubles.