The Yomiuri Giants maintained their tenuous hold on first place in the Central League standings Wednesday when starter Hiroshi Kisanuki went 7.1 innings of two run, five hit ball while striking out eight and walking none in a 4-2 victory over Yakult at Sapporo Dome. Kisanuki allowed just two hits over the first seven innings before running into some difficulty in the eighth and needing to be bailed out by closer Koji Uehara. 

Seth Greisinger started for the Swallows and went six innings of four run, six hit ball as a resourceful Yomiuri found a way to convert on every scoring opportunity they had in this one. 

Greisinger walked Giants leftfielder Yoshitomo Tani to begin the first and Tani advanced to second on a sacrifice. Rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi singled to left. Third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara flied out to right and Tani tagged up and busted in for a 1-0 lead. 

In the third, second baseman Ryota Wakiya walked with two outs and took off on a hit and run play. Takahashi whistled a shot down into the rightfield corner, Wakiya blazing home on the play to make it 2-0.. 

Yomiuri first baseman Seung-yeop Lee then doubled to right in the fourth and was pushed over to third on a sacrifice. Shortstop Tomohiro Nioka singled to center to plate Lee and raise it to 3-0. 

Ogasawara subsequently doubled to leftcenter in the sixth and moved to third on a sacrifice. One out later, Nioka singled to right and showed Ogasawara in to pump it up to 4-0. That was their last hit of the ballgame. 

However, in the seventh, Yakult second baseman Hiroyasu Tanaka beat out a ground ball toward second and shortstop Shinya Miyamoto belted a Kisanuki delivery into the leftfield seats to reduce it to 4-2. One out later, Ryuji Miyade pinch hit for the pitcher's spot and singled to left. Manager Tatsunori Hara resorted to the bullpen for Tetsuya Yamaguchi, who needed only two pitches to induce a 3-6 force from centerfielder Norichika Aoki. Kentaro Nishimura was summoned from the pen and walked both third baseman Yasushi Iihara and leftfielder Alex Ramirez to load the bases. Hara called on Uehara and rightfielder Aaron Guiel just got under one and flied out to deep right to kill the rally. Uehara would then return for the ninth and get three of the four men he encountered to wrap it up. 

This was the first time in three tries this season that the kyojin and bested Greisinger and they now have a four game win skein going. 

Before that eighth, Kisanuki had been so dominant that only three of the outs he obtained had been in the outfield. This was his tenth shirobosh and his first since August first, his first time attaining double figures in four years. He was clocked at 90mph. 

Uehara now has 11 saves for August, a new Giants single month record. 

For Yakult, Ramirez was 0-3 with a walk and is at .344. Guiel was 0-4 and is at .255. Greisinger was 0-2 and is at .091. Brian Sikorski also got into the game and tossed a perfect inning on two strikeouts and is at 3.94. 

For Yomiuri, Lee was 1-3 with a sacrifice and is at .270. Centerfielder Damon Hollins was 0-3 and is at .270. 

A fourth inning Tomonori Maeda dinger would prove to be the signal blow Wednesday, as it enabled them to take a 3-2 victory from Hanshin at Koshien Stadium and clinch the series between the two sides with one tilt to play. Takahiro Aoki went five innings of two run, six hit ball for his third victory. But while Aoki has struggled at times this season, he has shown enough to make him one of the names to watch in 2008 to see if he takes that next step up. 

Keiji Uezono started for the Tigers and went five innings of three run (one earned) ball on four hits while striking out five and walking three in his third defeat. 

The Carp had two on and one out in the first, but that was deep sixed on a pair of flyouts. 

In the second, though, Maeda singled to right and catcher Yoshiyuki Ishihara singled to center. One out later, Aoki attempted to sacrifice the runners over and laid down a bunt. Uezono was all over it and fired to third baseman Andy Sheets, who must of taken his eye off the ball thinking about winging it back to first for a double play because he geeked a true peg and the ball rolled out near the stands and Maeda chugged home while Ishihara hustled into third. Shortstop Eishin Soyogi flied out to right and Ishihara tagged up and crossed for a 2-0 lead. 

However, in the home version, Hanshin rightfielder Osamu Hamanaka got a fastball on the outer half of the plate and plunged it into the centerfield seats to cut it to 2-1. 

But Maeda checked into the batter's box again in the fourth and nine ironed a forkball down in the zone over the rightfield wall to make it 3-1 and put him within three knocks of 2000. 

The Tigers would respond again, though, as leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto singled to center in the bottom stanza and, one out later, Hamanaka walked. First baseman Mitsunobu Takahashi singled to left and Kanemoto raced in to contract the disparity to 3-2. Catcher Toshihiro Noguchi grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to stall the attack. 

Hiroshima made another attempt and lighting up the big board in the fifth when Soyogi and second baseman Akihiro Higashide both walked. But centerfielder Alex Ochoa scalded a shot headed for the rightfield corner that was interdicted by what is a normally defensively challenged Takahashi with a diving grab and he stepped on first for a double play. Third baseman Takahiro Arai struckout and reliever 

Ryo Watanabe struckout the side in the sixth to pass it off to Yuya Ando, who exiled three of four hitters he saw in the seventh. 

Tomoyuki Kubota came on in the eighth for his 70th appearance (the pro yakyu record is 80, by his teammate Kyuji Fujikawa) and was clocked at 95mph over two innings of one hit ball. 

Hiroshima knuckleballer Jared Fernandez had spun two spotless frames after he entered in the sixth. In the eighth, however, second baseman Kentaro Sekimoto singled to right with one out and went to second when rightfielder Go Kida fumbled the ball. Sheets singled to center. But a groundout and alfyout suppressed that and it was time for the somewhat shaky Katsuhiro Nagakawa to try to turn the lights out. 

With one out, Shinjiro Hiyama pinch hit for Kubota and walked. Toru Fujiawara pinch ran for Hiyama. Noguchi struckout. Backup first baseman Ikuro Katsuragi smacked a deep drive near the line in left and Maeda ran it down for a scary final out. 

Maeda is 14-39 in his last ten games. 

For Hanshin, Sheets was 1-4 and is at .247. 

For Hiroshima, Ochoa was 0-3 with a walk and is at .335. Fernandez struckout in his one at bat and is at .053. 

Yokohama The rainout Wednesday was the Bay Stars 13th and that means that they may have to play a doubleheader to fulfill their schedule. It would be the first time in nine years they will have had to do that. 

It has also been learned that manager Akihiko Oya will definitely be back for 2008. 

Yomiuri Rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi is reportedly in negotiations for a four year deal that will keep him in Tokyo that is reportedly worth 1.6 billion yen (about $13 million). 

Infielder Takuya Kimura sat Wednesday's game out with a backache. 

Miscellaneous The Yankees beat Boston 4-3 Wednesday. Bombers DH Hideki Matsui was 2-4.

Seattle got its butt kicked by Anaheim 8-2 Wednesday for their fifth straight loss. Centerfielder Ichiro Suzuki was 0-4 and thus still needs eight more hits for 200. 

Colorado second baseman Kazuo Matsui was 4-4 with a walk in an 8-0 triumph over San Francisco. 

Tampa Bay third baseman Akinori Iwamura was 1-6 with a sacrifice Wednesday in a 5-4 victory over Baltimore. 

Cardinals outfielder So Taguchi was 0-1 in a pinch hit appearance Wednesday against Houston in a 7-0 loss. 

Phillies second baseman Tadahito Iguchi was 1-3 with a walk against the Mets Wednesday, but found himself involved in a controversy when he was knocked down on an attempt to turn a game ending double play. The runner reached out while sliding inside the bag attempting, or so it appeared, to grab Iguchi has he made the throw to first. That resulted in an interference call and Philadelphia escaped with a 3-2 win. 

Dodgers closer Takashi Saito entered in the ninth Wednesday with the score tied 9-9 against the Nats and tossed a scoreless inning. They ultimately won it in 12 10-9. 

Oakland farmhand Kazuhito Tadano threw a scoreless inning on a hit Wednesday. 

Waseda University pitcher Yuki Saito went seven innings of eight hit, one run ball in an exhibition game with Toyo University Wednesday. 

Japan's high school all star team whipped Kansai University 6-1 Wednesday in a practice game. Yoshinori Sato wove two hitless innings while walking one. Shikato Kumashiro slugged a two run homer to spearhead the nine hit attack.