A throwing error by Hanshin starter Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi in the fifth inning allowed the Yakult Swallows to continue the inning and knock the burly lefty and reliever Minoru Iwata around for seven unearned runs to saunter off with an 11-3 victory at Koshien Stadium. Shimoyanagi was charged with ten of those tallies, a career worst, but only four of those were earned. 

Seth Greisinger started for Yakult and went eight innings of one run, five hit ball for his league top tying 11th win. 

Swallows centerfielder Norichika Aoki doubled to leftcenter to commence the match and went to third on a sac bunt. Leftfielder Alex Ramirez flew out to left and Aoki tagged up and busted home for a 1-0 lead. 

But the Tigers rebounded to restore equilibrium in the bottom of the first when shortstop Takashi Toritani singled to center and advanced on a sacrifice. Third baseman Andy Sheets singled to center to redeem Toritani and make it 1-1. They would generate only two more singles through eight. 

However, in the third, Aoki singled to right and went to second on a sacrifice and then to third on a groundout. Rightfielder Aaron Guiel beat out a ground ball toward first to drive Aoki in. First baseman Adam Riggs singled to center. Shortstop Shinya Miyamoto walked to load the bases. Third baseman Ryuji Miyade singled to right and sprung Guiel and Riggs in to pump it up to 4-1. Catcher Masakazu Fukukawa walked to repack the sacks. Greisinger, though, struckout to stall the attack. 

Things would subsequently get completely out of hand in the fifth when Shimoyanagi plunked Guiel on an elbow and was erased on a 6-4-3 double play. Miyamoto singled to left and Miyade singled to right. Fukukawa was hit by a pitch to fill the bags. Greisinger rolled a ball near the third base line and Shimoyanagi grabbed it and heaved it down the rightfield line and two runs scored on the miscue. Aoki walked to juice the bags. Second baseman Hiroyasu Tanaka doubled down the leftfield line and Fukukawa and Greisinger reported. Iwata replaced Shimoyanagi. Ramirez singled to left and Aoki and Tanaka tooled home. Iwata nailed Guiel in the back and the former Yankee started walking out to the mound before he was intercepted by coaches. It was only the second time a player had been hit twice in the same inning ever and the 20th HBP for him this season. Riggs grounded to the slick fielding Sheets, who let the ball get through him for an error that plated Ramirez to up it to 11-1. Miyamoto grounded to Toritani and he finally obtained the third out. The Swallows would produce only one hit over the duration. 

With the offenses taking a substantial portion of the last half of the tilt off, it went into the ninth with the score the same. Sheets singled to left off of reliever Masahiro Yoshikawa. Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto singled to center. First baseman Lin Wei-tzu singled to center and Sheets toed the dish. Rightfielder Kodai Sakurai singled to left and Kanemoto was tallied up to trim it to 11-3. Masanori Ishikawa was summoned from the bullpen, thus lending Yoshikawa one of the few men to be knocked out with a ten run lead. Ishikawa struckout the side and that was the ballgame. 

The only other man to be hit twice in the same inning was Hiroshima hall of famer Sachio Kinugasa on August 31, 1976 in a game against Chunichi. The record for most HBPs on one player for a year is 24 by the Taiyo Whales (now Yokohama) Yoshiyuki Iwamoto. Guiel, though, did tie Greg LaRocca's team mark. 

The irony of this game, too, was that Tigers second baseman Kentaro Sekimoto, who has also seen some time at third and short over the years, set a new record for most consecutive errorless chances by a Central League second sacker with 714. The last time he fumbled something at second was back in 2005. Who woulda thunk it as much as he moves around?

Shimoyanagi's previous personal worst in runs given up was eight. 

Aoki was 3-5 with a walk to raise his average to .350 and put him back at hyead of the league's hitting line by four points over Ramirez.

For Hanshin, Sheets was 2-4 and is at .237. Lin was 2-4 and is at .320. 

For Yakult, Ramirez was 1-4 with a sac fly and two strikeouts and is at .346. Guiel was 2-3 with the two HBPs and is at .259. Riggs was 1-5 and is at .200. Greisinger was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .068. 

Tuesday, Chunichi infielder Ryota Arai, the younger brother of Hiroshima third baseman Takahiro Arai, drove in the winning run in a Dragons victory. Wednesday, the elder Arai singled to center with a man on second and two outs in the bottom of the tenth at Hiroshima Municipal Stadium to dissolve a 4-4 standoff and win it 5-4. In so doing, the Carp overcame four errors that the Nagoya crew turned into two unearned runs and kicked their opponent down into second place in the standings. 

Kazuki Yoshimi started for Chunichi and went five innings of four run, six hit ball and struckout eight while walking none in a no decision. 

Kan Otake started for Hiroshima and went five innings of three run, two earned, ball on three hits while striking out seven and walking three, so credit for the positive outcome went to reliever Takahiro Aoki, who assembled a scoreless tenth. 

Otake put himself in hot water in the first when he booted shortstop Hirokazu Ibata's ground ball and saw Ibata sacrificed to second. A groundout moved Ibata to third and first baseman Tyrone Woods lashed a double to right to cash Ibata in for a 1-0 lead. Rightfielder Masahiko Morino grounded to second baseman Akihiro Higashide and didn't come up with it cleanly for the second error of the inning. But third baseman Norihiro Nakamura flied out to left and Otake evaded further damage. 

However, in the second, Carp rightfielder Go Kida socked a Yoshimi delivery into the rightfield seats to knot it at one all. 

Woods, though, singled to center in the third with two outs and Morino mortared a shot into the centerfield stands to go up 3-1. 

But in the home version, shortstop Eishin Soyogi singled to left and went to second on a sacrifice. Higashide singled to right. One out later, first baseman Kenta Kurihara got a fastball down in the zone and punished it into the leftcenterfield bleachers for a three run homer and a 4-3 edge. It was Kurihara's first roundtripper in six games. 

Otake walked a pair with two outs in the ninth, but a groundout kept those off the scoreboard. 

They would put two on with nobody out in the sixth against reliever Kenta Satake. One out later, Ryota Arai was sent up to pinch hit for Yoshimi and Hiroshima boss Marty Brown waved in Hayato Aoki in response. Arai struckout and Ibata flied out to quell that disturbance. 

In the bottom stanza, the fish loaded the bases with one out, but a popup and a strikeout undermined the threat. 

Neither side would pose any trouble for the opposing pitching staff until the ninth, when Dragons veteran Kazuyoshi Tatsunami pinch hit for catcher Daisuke Tanaka and singled to right off of closer Katsuhiro Nagakawa. Atsushi Fujii pinch ran for him and stole second. Kazuki Inoue pinch hit for the pitcher's spot and singled to right. Ibata struckout. Second baseman Mashiro Araki grounded to Soyogi, who gunned it to catcher Yoshiyuki Ishihara, who dropped it for an error that allowed the tying run to cross. Centerfielder Byung-kyu Lee and Woods walked, but they rotted out on the basepaths and Hiroshima did nothing in their time at bat to put it into extra innings. 

Nakamura singled to right to inaugurate the tenth and leftfielder Takehiro Donoue singled to center against Takahiro Aoki, but a strikeout and a double play interdicted the chance. 

Masafumi Hirai, who had worked the ninth, was back out for the tenth for Chunichi and, with two outs, he walked Kurihara. A wild pitch moved Kurihara to second and Arai spanked one to center to boost Kurihara in for Arai's first walkoff knock in two years.

For Hiroshima, centerfielder Alex Ochoa was 0-4 with a walk and two strikeouts and is at .337. 

For Chunichi, Woods was 2-3 with two walks and is at .282. Lee was 0-3 with two walks and two strikeouts and is at .252. Rafael Cruz also got into the game and tossed a perfect eighth to supress his ERA to 4.38. 

Yomiuri righthander Hiroshi  Kisanuki went seven solid innings of one run, six hit ball and was backed by homers from third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara and shortstop Tomohiro Nioka for a 5-2 victory over Yokohama at Yokohama Stadium. Hayato Terahara started for the Bay Stars and went six innings of five run, seven hit ball for his eighth defeat, one that helped the Giants go up the ladder to first place. 

Yomiuri leftfielder Yoshitomo Tani walked with one out in the first and Nioka drilled a 91mph fastball on the outer half into the first row of the rightfield seats. Ogasawara then plowed a slider over the rightfield wall for a 3-0 lead. They would get only two more hits through five. 

Yokohama wasn't discouraged and former Giant Toshihisa Nishi walked in the bottom half and was doubled off on a lineout to first. One out later, centerfielder Tatsuhiko Kinjo homered to right to make it 3-1. 

They would then put two on with two outs in the second, but Terahara struckout. They would connect for only one more hit through six. 

So this became a pretty decent pitching battle until the sixth, when Terahara plunked Nioka and Ogasawara singled to left. First baseman Seung-yeop Lee singled to left as well to load the bases. Catcher Shinnosuke Abe flew out to right and Nioka tagged up and hustled in. Centerfielder Takayuki Shimizu doubled to rightcenter and Ogasawara arrived home safely to enlarge it to 5-1. A flkyout and a strikeout prohibited them from racking up any more runs and they would be no hit from that point forward. 

The Stars put men on first and third with two outs in the seventh, but Nishi flew to center to squelch it. 

In the eighth, though, Yokohama shortstop Takuro Ishii singled to right off of Kiyoshi Toyoda, as did Kinjo and Ishii jetted into third. Third baseman Shuichi Murata grounded to second and Ishii checked in to shave it to 5-2. A flyout and a strikeout impeded any further hopes of a home invasion and closer Koji Uehara banished three of the four men he encountered in the ninth to secure it. 

Ogasawara had to come out after the sixth after experiencing pain in his left knee. It is thought to be minor. 

Nioka has clubbed four homers in his last five games. 

Terahara was clocked at 94mph, but he is 0-3 against Yomiuri this season. 

Aging idol singer Seiko Matsuda threw out the ceremonial first pitch and one hopped it to the plate. 

For Yomiuri, Lee was 2-4 and is at .267. Damon Hollins walked in a pinch hit appearance and is at .266. 

Yomiuri Is second baseman Luis Gonzalez done for the season? He is once again experiencing problems with his left wrist, hurting it again in the third inning of a minor league game Wednesday. It is unknown when he might be back since htis has become a chronic issue. 

Miscellaneous Mariners centerfielder Ichiro Suzuki was 4-6 with an RBI Wednesday and threw Vladimir Guerrero out at the plate in an 8-7 thriller with Anaheim. Catcher Kenji Johjima was 2-4 with two RBIs. Ichiro is now batting .351. Moreoever, he now has 155 hits on the season, giving him 2787 for his combined MLB/NPB careers, third all time on the Japanese hits list, passing Sadaharu Oh. He needs 299 more to pass hall of famer Isao Harimoto for first with 3,085 and just 15 to go into the two slot over Katsuya Nomura. 

Oakland farmhand Kazuhito Tadano tossed two innings of relief Wednesday and permitted two runs on three hits. 

Tomokazu Ohka got smoked again down in AAA for Seattle, as the Memphis Redbirds hammered him for eight runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings. 

Dodgers closer Takashi Saito cadged his 27th save with a scoreless ninth against San Francisco Wednesday in a 6-4 victory. 

Philadelphia second baseman Tadahito Iguchi was 2-5 against the Cubs in a 5-4 defeat. 

Colorado second baseman Kazuo Matsui was 2-5 with an RBI Wednesday against Florida in a 4-3 loss. 

Yankees leftfielder Hideki Matsui was 1-4 Wednesday against the White Sox in an 8-1 victory. 

Hideki Okajima finally gave up another run when he was taken deep by Miguel Tejada in a 5-4 Boston victory over Baltimore. 

Okajima's teammate, Daisuke Matsuzaka, threw 68 pitches in a pre-game workout. 

Tampa Bay third baseman Akinori Iwamura was 2-3 with a sac fly and an RBI in a 6-2 triumph over Toronto. 

Cardinals outfielder So Taguchi was 1-1 Wednesday, as they were obliterated by Pittsburgh 15-1.