Yomiuri catcher Shinnosuke Abe capped off Sunday's faceoff with Yakult in spectacular fashion, connecting for a walkoff tenth inning grand slam in a 7-3 victory at Tokyo Dome. Swallows starter Ryo Kawashima went six innings of two run, nine hit ball, but reliever Shohei Tateyama was taken deep in the last of the ninth by third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara to knot it at three all and that left Kawashima with nada. 

Norihito Kaneto started for Yomiuri and went six innings of three run, five hit ball and didn't walk anyone in a no decision. Consequently, the shiroboshi went to reliever Koji Uehara, his first of the year (how weird is THAT?). 

Kaneto one hit the Swallows over the first three innings, but in the fourth, leftfielder Alex Ramirez got an 0-1 breaking ball on the outer half of the plate and smashed it over the centerfield wall for a 1-0 lead and his 200th career dinger in Japan. 

Kawashima was tagged for a single in each of his first three frames. However, in the bottom of the fourth, Ogasawara singled to center with one away and went to second on a groundout. Abe doubled to rightcenter and it was even at 1-1. First baseman Seung-yeop Lee singled to center. Abe rounded third and lit out for home, but centerfielder Norichika Aoki's throw to the plate was there ahead of him and the inning was over. 

In the fifth, though, shortstop Shinya Miyamoto doubled down the leftfield line with one away and catcher Ryohei Kawamoto drilled a shot over the leftfield wall to go up 3-1. 

The Giants pulled up just behind their Tokyo rivals in the sixth, as rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi singled to right and Takahashi doubled to leftcenter, Takahashi out at the plate endeavoring to score from first. Ogasawara snuck into third on the relay. Shortstop Tomohiro Nioka grounded to second and Ogasawara busted in to narrow it to 3-2. 

Yakult loaded the bases in the seventh on a walk, a single and an HBP with two outs, but Aoki grounded out to foil the opportunity. 

They threatened again in the eighth when Ramirez, who finished a triple short of the cycle, doubled to leftcenter and rightfielder Aaron Guiel walked. The runners were advanced on a sacrifice. Second baseman Hiroyasu Tanaka grounded to Nioka, who threw home to get Ramirez in a rundown and he was tagged out. Miyamoto was intentionally walked to pack the sacks and get to Kawamoto, who grounded out, to leave them loitering. 

Then as kind of a triple whammy, after the two failed chances at breaking it open, Ogasawara leadoff the ninth and nine ironed a first pitch fastball down and away into the first row of the leftfield stands to equalize it at three. One out later, Abe walked. Lee and centerfielder Damon Hollins each singled to center to juice the bags. But a 4-2 force and a flyout put the kabosh on triumphing in regulation. 

Tateyama subsequently plunked reserve leftfielder Kenji Yano in the tenth and, one out later, Ogasawara singled to right. Nioka was also struck by Tateyama to swell the bags. Abe got a 3-1 88mph fastball and torqued it well into the rightcenterfield seats and it was see you later. 

Yomiuri was 1-6 in their most recent seven battles coming in, so this was at least a temporary band aid for that bleeding. It was also the Giants first walkoff victory for 2007. 

It was the third walkoff grand slam in extra innings in Yomiuri annals and it was Abe's fifth lifetime sayonara bomb. 

For Yakult, Ramirez was 3-4 and is at .339. Guiel was 0-4 with a walk and is at .260. 

For Yomiuri, Lee was 2-4 and is at .265. Hollins was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .258. 

It wasn't the best day at the office for career backup Hidenori Kuramoto, who started in right for Chunichi at Nagoya Dome Sunday. He was thrown out attempting to steal, grounded into a double play and he collaborated with centerfielder Masahiko Morino in a moment of indeciveness that allowed a catchable ball go for a double. However, he redeemed himself in the middle innings with a solo homer and an RBI single that enabled his side to pull away from Yokohama in an eventual 6-3 victory over Yokohama. Dragons starter Kenichi Nakata, who was clocked at 92mph, went eight innings of three run, four hit ball while striking out nine for his tenth win, the first time in his career that he had registered into double figures in that department. 

Yoshihiro Doi started for Yokohama and went 5.2 innings of four run (three earned) ball on seven hits and three walks to even his record at 7-7.

Chunichi had two on and two out in the first, but a flyout interrupted that. 

The Bay Stars then nosed in front in the second when third baseman Shuichi Murata walked and went to second on a sacrifice. First baseman Yuki Yoshimura doubled to left to chase Murata in for a 1-0 lead. Leftfielder Tatsuya Shimozono walked. But a flyout and a popup hindered them from realizing more in the inning. 

Shimozono, though, dropped leftfielder Koji Nakamura's fly ball for an error in the bottom half and Kuramoto singled to left, Nakamura hotfooting it over to third. Catcher Motonobu Tanishige flied out to center and Nakamura tagged up and scurried in to make it 1-1. 

They would surge ahead in the third when second baseman Masahiro Araki reached on an infield hit and stole second. Third baseman Norihiro Nakamura homered to left to pump it up to 3-1. That was Nakamura's first roundtripper in 25 games. Woods was hit by a pitch. Morino and Koji Nakamura each singled to right to load the bases. But Kuramoto grounded into the aforementioned twin killing and that revolt was subverted. 

However, Murata doubled to right in the fourth and, one out later, so did Yoshimura for the RBI. Shimozono singled to left. Catcher Kazunari Tsuruoka grounded to short and Yoshimura hustled across to put it at 3-3. They would generate only one more hit over the remainder of the night. 

Chunichi had two on and two out in the fifth and that went asunder on a strikeout. 

But in the sixth, Kuramoto conked one into the leftfield bleachers to make it 4-3.

They enhanced that in the seventh, as Norihiro Nakamura doubled to right and, one out later, went to third on a ground ball. Kazuyoshi Tatsunami pinch hit for Koji Nakamura and walked. Kuramoto singled to right and it was 5-3. 

They piled on another in the eighth, as Takehiro Donoue pinch hit for Nakata and singled to center. Atsushi Fujii pinch ran for Donoue and stole second. Shortstop Hirokazu Ibata singled to left to widen it to 6-3. 

Closer Hitoki Iwase replaced Nakata for the ninth and dispensed with three of the four men he faced for his 32nd save. 

Norihiro Nakamura said that his homer was the hardest he has hit a ball this season. 

The Dragons have now won each of their last four series. 

For Chunichi, Woods was 0-3 with a walk, an HBP and three strikeouts and is at .283. 

The Hiroshima Carp tripped up the Hanshin Tigers pennant drive Sunday when they amassed three runs in the third to lend support to an excellent outing from starter Kan Otake, who went six shutout innings on three hits, three strikeouts and three walks in a 3-0 final at Osaka Dome. Otake was clocked at 94mph. 

Ryan Vogelsong started for Hanshin and went five innings of three run, seven hit ball and also walked four in being stained with his fourth loss. 

The Tigers put two on with two out in the first, but a flyout sabotaged it. 

Hiroshima then loaded the bases with two outs in the second, but Otake struckout. 

That deadlock would be broken in the third, as shortstop Eishin Soyogi singled to right and, one out later, centerfielder Alex Ochoa also singled to right. Third baseman Takahiro Arai got aboard on an infield hit. First baseman Kenta Kurihara walked to force Soyogi in. Leftfielder Tomonori Maeda doubled to right to plate two and snag a 3-0 lead. One out later, Rightfielder Go Kida walked to reload the bases. But Otake was now up again and he grounded out to strand them. 

Hanshin centerfielder Norihiro Akahoshi singled to center in the bottom half with one away and Otake and three relievers then retired 19 of the next 21 (the only two runners were on walks) and that was the ballgame. 

Maeda needs only 16 more hits for 2000 and the membership in the Meikyukai that comes with that.

For Hanshin, third baseman Andy Sheets was 0-4 and is at .251. First baseman Lin Wei-tzu was 0-4 and is at .309. Vogelsong was 0-1 and is at .200. 

For Hiroshima, Ochoa was 2-4 with an HBP and is at .331. 

Saga went out to a 3-1 lead after three, but Teikyo rallied for two in the fourth to deadlock it. 

Kakigahara, who came on in relief, went 10.2 innings of two run, eight hit ball while striking out four and walking six on 166 pitches in absorbing the loss. 

Koryo High also moved forward with a 7-1 triumph over Imabari Nishi High. After getting behind 1-0, Koryo got two in the fourth and fifth and three in the seventh and were never challenged. Ace Shikato Kumashiro went all the way for Imabari on 142 pitches despite being hit around. Koryo starter Yusuke Nomura went eight innings of one run, nine hit ball and struckout 12 on 136 pitches to scoop up credit for the win. 

Miscellaneous Dodgers closer Takashi Saito struckout the side Sunday against Colorado for his 33rd save. That is the third highest save total ever for a Japanese next to Kazuhiro Sasaki's 54 and 37 save campaigns. Rockies second baseman Kazuo Matsui was 0-2 with two walks and a stolen base. He is hitless in his last three games. 

Seattle centerfielder Ichiro Suzuki was 3-5 with two RBIs Sunday in an 11-5 victory over the White Sox. It was his 16th three hit showing of the year. 

Yankees leftfielder Hideki Matsui was 1-3 with two sac flies and three RBIs Sunday against Detroit in a 9-3 victory. A Boys League team from Japan was at the game to watch the former Yomiuri Giant. 

Tampa Bay third baseman Akinori Iwamura was 1-5 with three strikeouts in a 4-3 win against Cleveland. 

Philadelphia second baseman Tadahito Iguchi was 2-5 against Pittsburgh in an 8-4 defeat.