The victury was credited to Akichika Yamada for his first shiroboshi in a year. 

Shinichi Kato started for Kintetsu and he had another rough time, going six innings of four run ball on eight hits, two of them homers.

Junji Hoshino started for the birds of prey and was a little more solid, tossing 6.1 innings of three run, four hit ball, though he ultimately didn't figure in the decision.

There was nothing happening in this one until the third, when Daiei created the first threat of the match. With one away, centerfielder Kazuyuki Takahashi singled to left and, one out later, second baseman Tadahito Iguchi collected the first of his three knocks, a single to center. Shortstop Munenori Kawasaki walked to load the bases. However, Valdez grounded to second to spoil the fun.

It wouldn't be until the fifth that one of the two sides would make some headway on the scoreboard. Takahashi reached on a one out infield hit. First baseman Mitsuru Honma singled to right. Iguchi went with Kato's delivery and powered it beyond the rightcenterfield wall to make it 3-0 Hawks. It was the slugging infielder's first roundtripper in 15 games. 

In the sixth, Daiei catcher Kenji Johjima brought the big hammer with him and nailed a first pitch fastball right on the screws (how's THAT for a mixed metaphor?)  to the opposite field and into the rightfield bleachers just to the good side of the foul pole to stretch that advantage to 4-0.

Unfortunately for soon to be birthday boy Sadaharu Oh (May 20), Hoshino and reliever Hector Mercado would squander it in the seventh. Buffs third baseman Norihiro Nakamura walked. Rightfielder Koichi Isobe singled to center. First baseman Hirotoshi Kitagawa also singled back through the middle to plate Nakamura. After leftfielder Fumitoshi Takano popped up, Oh went to the bullpen for Mercado, who was making his regular season Japan debut. Pinch hitter Yosuke Takasu singled to right to convert Isobe. Catcher Akihito Fujii walked to load the bases. Yamada took the ball from Mercado. Centerfielder Hiroaki Onishi singled to left and Kitagawa and Takasu sped across to even it at 4-4. Second baseman Eiji Mizxuguchi lined out to short and DH Kenshi Kawaguchi flied out to center to keep it deadlocked. 

Daiei, though, jumped all over reliever Hideo Koike in the seventh. Honma and Iguchi each singled to center with one out and were advanced on a sac bunt. Valdez spanked a shot into center and Honma loped in while Iguchi put it in fourth for the plate to make it 6-4 Hawks.

Bullpen savior Koji Mise entered  the contest endeavoring to turn out the lights in the ninth and was greeted by Fujii socking a double into the leftfield corner. Onishi walked. Mizuguchi singled to center to bring Fujii in and put the tying run on second with nobody out. Oh had to be muttering, "yabai na~ (well, this certainly sucks)." But Mise put the boot in and struck pinch hitter Katsumi Yamashita out. Nakamura flied out to center. Isobe grounded to second and, by the skin of their teeth, Daiei pocketed the W. 

Somebody in that Daiei pen needs to step up and help take the load off of Mise, whose arm has to be about to fall off now. He is on pace for more than 70 appearances. But with an astonishing 8-1 K/BB ratio and having allowed only 21 hits and one homer in 27 innings, he is by far the Hawks most effective reliever right now.