Yuji Yoshimi started for Yokohama and saw almost every mistake he made show up on the scoreboard, as he was rattled for six runs on five hits, a hit batter and two walks to absorb the defeat. 

Kubo went eight innings and limited the Yokohama offense to three runs on seven hits in eight innings in finishing off the Giants second series sweep of the season and first since April 9-11. 

Kubo was in a two on one out predicament in the first, but extricated himself from it by fanning the next two men. He was then given a lead, as Nishi pummled a leadoff first pitch Yoshimi fastball into the leftcenterfield bleachers to make it 1-0. 

In the second, Yoshimi walked third baseman Hiroki Kokubo and plunked catcher Shinnosuke Abe with one out. However, shortstop Tomohiro Nioka struckout and so did Kubo to live through it.

That wouldn't obtain in the third. Nishi singled to center and, one out later, centerfielder Tuffy Rhodes doubled into the rightfield corner. While he was in the midst of unintentionally walking rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi, Yoshimi unleashed a wild pitch and Nishi scampered across. Kiyohara, who taped a picture of his wife Aki and son Shogo inside his batting helmet, picked on the first pitch he saw and thundered a roof scraper to deep leftcenter, the ball landing well into the seats for a 5-0 Yomiuri advantage.

Yokohama got off the shnide in the fifth when rightfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo singled to center and went to second on a one out groundout. Yoshimi singled to right and Kinjo was in to make it 5-1. 

Kiyohara, though, registered his objection to that when he socked one into the leftcenterfield stands in the sixth to restore the five run hegemony at 6-1. With the bomb, Kiyohara passed Toei (now Nippon Ham) and Yakult hall of famer Katsuo Osugi on the career homer list. 

Nishi then returned in the seventh and shoved an offering from Yokohama reliever Denny Tomori into the leftfield bleachers and it was 7-1
Giants. 

Kubo endured his toughest time of the night in the eighth, as Kazunori Tanaka singled to center, shortstop Takuro Ishii singled to right and second baseman Seiichi Uchikawa also singled to right to load the bases. One out later, first baseman Tyrone Woods singled to center
to redeem both Tanaka and Ishii to make it 7-3. The next two men flew out to center and Matt Randel entered from the bullpen in the ninth 
to retire three of four men to seal it. 

Kokubo sprained his ankle catching a popup in the fourth and was spelled by Akira Etoh. He is expected to miss the next week. He says there is no swelling, so it should prove to be minor. 

Yokohama has now lost four straight for the firs time this season and they are three games under .500. 

Yomiuri has now eclipsed the 100 homer plateau in only 47 games, the fastest pace by far in Japanese history. If they keep this up, they will
hammer 307 into the great wide open by the end of the schedule. 

Kiyohara needs five more hits for 2000. 
 

Photo:  Nice Finish on Toshihisa Nishi's Homer Swing

Martin Vargas started for Chunichi and bogged Hanshin down on four hits, a hit batter and three walks in 5.2 innings and helped the Tigers continue their ineptitude with runners in scoring position in the series, as they finished 0-27 in such situations. The bullpen then permitted three hits in 3.1 innings and Shinya Okamoto picked up another win. 

Vargas could have been critically wounded in the second, as leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto singled to left and rightfielder Shinjiro Hiyama singled to center. One out later, Vargas nailed third baseman Takashi Toritani with a pitch and the bags were juiced. Unfortunately, though, catcher Akihiro Yano and Shimoyanagi went down on strikes and the potential scoring bonanza evaporated. 

Shimoyanagi was in trouble just once. In the third, he walked Vargas with two outs and second baseman Masahiro Araki doubled down the rightfield line. But shortstop Hirokazu Ibata grounded out. 

In the fourth, Hanshin squandered another chance. Hiyama singled to center with one away and Kentaro Sekimoto walked. One out later, Yano was intentionally walked to get to Shimoyanagi, who struckout. 

Hanshin then amassed a pair of knocks against reliever Takashi Ogasawara in the eighth with two outs. But pinch hitter Hiroshi Yagi flew out and that was the last hurrah for the Tigers batting order. 

So on to the bottom of the ninth. Ibata walked. One out later, rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome laid down a sac bunt. But it was a good bunt and Williams rushed his throw and the peg went wide of first base and it was now runners on second and third with one out. Takayuki Onshi lifted a first pitch fastball to right and Ibata tagged up and sped across and that was your ballgame. 

Hanshin is now at .500. 

The last time the Dragons won a game while compiling just one hit was on August 5, 1989 against Yakult. They have done it just two other times, on 7/2/1942 against the Tokyo Giants and on 10/12/1942 against Taiyo when they were going under the Nagoya banner. 

The last time Hanshin were the losers when one of their moundsmen spun a one hitter was on September 23, 1982 against Yomiuri in a 1-0
defeat at Tokyo Dome. It is also the seventh time Hanshin has been shutout this year, a league worst. A big reason for this is that Yano has only one hit in his last seven games. 

Takaya Kawauchi started for Hiroshima and had massive control problems, as he walked six and surrendered five hits in five innings, but with all the run support, he cadged a win anyway thanks to allowing only two runs to cross the plate. 

The Carp had the upper hand from the get go, as Shima singled to right with one out in the first and second baseman Greg LaRocca singled to center. Shortstop Andy Sheets walked to pack the sacks. Leftfielder Tomonori Maeda flied out to right and Shima tagged up and motored
in for a 1-0 lead. 

In the third, Shima singled to left. Two outs later, Maeda singled to right. First baseman Kenta Kurihara singled to right and Shima 
crossed once more to make it 2-0. 

But in the bottom portion, Yakult shortstop Noriyuki Shiroishi singled to left with two outs and third baseman Akinori Iwamura walked. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez singled to right to drive Shiroishi in and it was 2-1 Carp. 

Hiroshima retorted with Ishihara's infield hit leading off the fourth and he went to second on a sac bunt. Centerfielder Koichi Ogata 
singled to left. Shima singled to left and it was 3-1. Ishido was substituted for Yu Sugimoto and he got the final two outs. 

The Swallows then endeavored to surmount the Carp lead, as Furuta and rightfielder Billy Martin walked to open the fourth and second baseman Katsuyuki Dobashi singled to left. Furuta attempted to score, but he was out at the plate. One out later, Centerfielder Munehiro Shida singled to right to plate Martin to make it 3-2. Shiroishi flied out to right to terminate the revolt. 

Hiroshima, though, kept on coming. In the sixth, Ishihara singled to right off of reliever Futoshi Yamabe and went to second on a sac bunt. Ogata walked. Shima whizzed a double down the rightfield line and Ishihara was home for a 4-2 lead. Yataro Sakamoto was drafted in from the bullpen and got LaRocca to popout and Sheets struckout. 

Yakult coumterattacked in their ups when Dobashi doubled off the centerfield fence and, one out later, Shida singled to center. Shiroishi grounded to third and Dobashi busted for the plate while the out was made at first. Iwamura walked. Ramirez was now up with a chance to shift the momentum of the match, but he struckout. 

Hiroshima then cannibalized Sakamoto in the seventh and put it in the refrigerator. Maeda cannonaded a shot off the centerfield wall for a double. Two outs later, Ishihara singled to right. Itsuki Asai singled to left to cash Maeda in. Ogata reached on an infield hit and Ishihara
scored. Shima singled to right. LaRocca dented the rightfield wall with a double that brought two in. Sheets singled to center for another pair to push the gap betweent he two sides to 10-3. 

Yakult mustered only two more hits the last three innings and it was soon time to go home. 

Shima has hit .450 over his last nine games (18-40). 

Hideki Irabu made a minor league start Sunday and went six shutout innings on four hits and 95 pitches. He was also clocked at 91mph. He could be back with the top club by the end of this week. 

Hisanori Takahashi threw 56 pitches worth of batting practice 

Meanwhile, for the other New York team, the Mets, shortstop kazuo Matsui went 2-4 with a walk in five times up. But his side lost to Florida 8-6 to strecth their losing skid to four games. He was also charged with an error when first baseman Mike Piazza came off the bag inadvertantly to scoop up Matsui's one hop throw. Most veteran first sackers would have recorded the out on that peg. 

San Diego reliever Akinori Otsuka continues to pile up zeroes, as
he walked a man to leadoff the eighth and then struckout two of the next three men to end his assignment in a 5-2 Padres win. 

Angels farmhand Yoshitaka Mizuo went 1.1 scoreless innings on one hit for the Angels Salt Lake City affiliate Sunday inthe second game of a doubleheader with Fresno. 

Back in the big leagues, Dodgers lefty Kazuhisa Ishii tossed six shutout innings on three hits against Arizona Sunday in a 3-0 

Tomokazu Ohka started for Montreal Sunday against Cincinnati 
Sunday at Montreal and went 6.2 innings of two run ball for his third win against five losses. It is his third consecutive shiroboshi after five consecutive defeats. 
 

Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki went 1-6 Sunday against Boston 
at Fenway Park in a 9-7 extra inning loss. Ichiro nearly got tossed
in the tenth when he vehemently objected to a strike three call on a check swing, the first time I've ever seen him do that. Bob Melvin ran out to chase Ichiro off and then let the umpire have a few words of his own beforeheading back to the dugout. Replays showed that while Ichiro's bat broke the plane of the front of the plate, he did it with his bathead next to his shoulder. Yet another example of the crappy umpiring in MLB these days. 

Shigetoshi Hasegawa came on in the eighth with a 7-5 lead and saw both of the first two men get on, so he was pulled in favor of Eddie Guardado, who permitted the tying run to score. Bosox outfielder David McCarty then socked a real monster of a shot more than 430 feet away to dead center through a nasty headwind for the victory in the 12th off of J.J. Putz.