Junji Hoshino started for Daiei and went seven solid innings of three run ball on seven hits, striking out five and walking none to improve 
to 3-2. 

Hawks second baseman Tadahito Iguchi leadoff the contest with a double to rightcenter and came around on two groundouts to second for a 1-0 lead. 

In the fourth, Daiei obtained some more breathing room when Iwamoto plunked catcher Kenji Johjima in the back, centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara doubled to rightcenter and Zuleta walloped a forkball and nine ironed it off of a billboard in the third deck just inside the foul 
pole in left about 490 feet away to make it 4-0. 

In the fifth, Hawks shortstop Munenori Kawasaki singled to right and, one out later, first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka singled to right, too. Johjima singled to center to redeem Kawasaki. Masashi Date replaced Iwamoto. One out later, Zuleta jackhammered one more than 425 feet into the centerfield stands and it was a laugher at 8-0. 

Nippon Ham got off the shnide in the home half when second baseman Kuniyuki Kimoto singled to right with two outs and shortstop Makoto Kaneko homered to left to put it at 8-2 Hawks. 

In the next Fighters at bat, third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara doubled to rightcenter with two outs and first baseman Fernando Seguignol singled to right to invite him home for a more respectable disparity of  8-3 Daiei. 

Kazuteru Shimada went yard off of Matsu with one away in the ninth to get within 8-4, but two of the next three men were retired and the Hawks carted off the W. Daiei has now won four in a row for the third time this year and it was their fifth sweep. 

There were two other ballclubs who had 14 straight five run efforts, the 1950 Shochiku Robins during the shortlived so-called "rabbit ball" era and the Kintetsu Buffaloes in 1994. 

Nine of Zuleta's 15 homers are against Nippon Ham this season. A team batting coach remarked that Zuleta's swing is becoming more compact. Zuleta himself said that he was partially jammed on his second roundtripper, but still had the strength to drive it out. 

Iguchi had his fourth three hits or more game of the season. 
 

Photo:  Daiei DH Julio Zuleta Drills One Real Far Wednesday

Shinichi Kato started for Kintetsu and didn't last five innings before he was pulled after surrendering seven hits and three runs. 

Takashi Ishii started for Seibu and limited the Buffs to no earned runs, but his own error resulted in three runs crossing and the relief corps permitted the lead run to score for Kintetsu and thus he didn't get a decision. 

Seibu seized the first lead of the match when first baseman Masahide Kaizuka singled to center in the second and DH Hiroyuki Oshima pounded a Kato delivery into the rightfield seats for a 2-0 advantage. 

They added another in the third on an infield single by leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada, a single to left from Kaizuka and another knock to left by Oshima that pushed Wada in for a 3-0 Lions lead. 

Seibu then let a big opportunity slip through their fingers when rightfielder Tatsuya Ozeki singled to right int he fifth and, one out later, Wada and Kaizuka walked to pack the sacks. But Oshima, who had already done some damage in this game, now took a little journey to hell when he bounded into a double play to ruin a potential big inning. 

Ishii cruised through the first six innings, but in the seventh, Barnes singled to center with one away and first baseman Hirotoshi 
Kitagawa walked. Rightfielder Daisuke Masuda bounched to Ishii, who misplayed it and the bases were loaded. Tetsuya Shiozaki was substitued for Ishii. Shortstop Masahiro Abe singled to right to send in two. Hoshino spelled Shiozaki. Pinch hitter Hiroaki Onishi singled to right and Masuda crossed to even it at 3-3. Centerfielder Naoyuki Omura singled to left and bases were jammed again. Hoshino hit second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi to force Abe in and Kintetsu had a 4-3 edge. Leftfielder Fumitoshi Takano struckout and third baseman Norihiro Nakamura popped to Hoshino to bring the curtain down on the inning, but now the Lions were behind. 

Carrasco had allowed only one baserunner in his initial three innings, but manager Masataka Nashida wanted to stretch his arm out and so 
he was dispatched back to the center of the diamond for the ninth and, with one out, Kitagawa made an error. Pinch hitter Yoshihito Ishii singled to right. Ozeki singled to left to load the bases. Closer Kazuo Fukumori got third baseman Jose Fernandez to ground into a 3-2 force. Wada singled to center for two runs and a 5-4 lead. Kaizuka singled to center to repack the sacks. Oshima lashed a shot into the rightfield corner to unburden the basepaths and it was 8-4. Shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima walked. Hiroyuki Shibata, pinch hitting for catcher Toru Hosokawa,  singled to center to make that 9-4.

Onodera, who is taking demoted setp man Shinji Mori's role for now, came in and saw Abe take him over the leftcenterfield wall. Onishi walked. Omura reached on an infield hit. One out later, Catcher Tetsuya Matoyama singled to right to swell the sacks. Nakamura struckout. Barnes belted one to deep straightaway center. It carromed off the wall and with two outs everyone was running on contact, so there was nobody left on the bases except for the former Angel on second and the score was 9-8. Kitagawa was intentionally walked. But as mentioned above, Katsumi Yamashita ended the rally and the game with a roller to third. 

Wada has been a monster in the ninth this season, as he is 9-19 with seven hits. Can you say MVP? 

Phillips probably figured out early on this wasn't going to be his night when leftfielder Matt Franco singled to center with two outs in the first and centerfielder Benny Agbayani conked one in the leftfield seats for a 2-0 Lotte lead.

But Orix came right back and used a leadoff single to left from centerfielder Arihito Muramatsu and a bomb into the centerfield bleachers
by rightfielder Roosevelt Brown to even it at 2-2.

In the third, Lotte shortstop Makoto Kosaka singled to right, went to second on a sacrifice and then scooted in on a single to center by Fukuura to put them back on top 3-2. 

The following inning, Lotte widened it  when Lee reached on an infield hit and was erased on a 4-6 force off the bat of third baseman Kiyoshi Hatsushiba. Catcher Tomoya Satozaki singled to center. One out later, Kosaka singled to center to chase Hatsushiba in. Masahiko Kaneda took the ball from Phillips. Second baseman Koichi Hori singled to center as well and Satozaki reported for a 5-2 Lotte advantage.

Kaneda was originally penciled in to start this game before the beginning of the series, but a rainout pushed everything back a day, thus Phillips got the nod. When he had an early exit, manager Haruki Ihara must have thought, "what the hell" and decided to bring Kaneda in.
In the fifth, though, Ihara would regret it. Franco walked. One out later, Lee lasered a double into the leftfield corner. With the infield up, Hatsushiba grounded to Jose Ortiz, who booted it and the bases were loaded. Satozaki singled to left for an RBI. Rightfielder Saburo 
Omura singled to left to plate Lee. Kosaka singled to right and Hatsushiba crossed. Hori grounded to third and Satozaki scored as the out was made at first. Fukuura singled to left for another run and it was 11-2 Lotte. 

Watanabe was then dented again by Orix, as catcher Daisuke Maeda whizzed a one out double down the rightfield line, went to third on a groundout and strode in on a single to right by Muramatsu. Watanabe nailed shortstop Hidemitsu Saito with a pitch. Brown singled to left
for the RBI to make it 11-4 Lotte. 

Orix reliever Takashi Aiki retaliated for the hitting of Saito by plunking Omura leading off the seventh, but all that did was lead to another Lotte rally. Omura went to second on a sac bunt. Hori walked. Fukuura played jai lai with the rightfield wall and Hori blazed in all the way from first on the double and it was 13-4. Fukuura was out trying to sneak into third on the relay home. Franco also doubled off the 
rightfield wall. Agbayani singled to right and Franco wound his way around to the dish. Lee thumped a shot off the rightfield fence for a double of his own and an RBI and Lotte was in front 15-4. 

Orix got most of those back when they came up, as second baseman Keiichi Hirano singled to right off of Takashi Kawai and Muramatsu singled to center. Two outs later, leftfielder Yoshitomo Tani propelled one into the leftcenterfield seats to make it 15-7 Lotte. It was the third consecutive game in which Tani has homered. 

Orix rookie reliever Tatsuo Kato was the next victim of the Lotte onslaught, as Fukuura leadoff the ninth with a single to left and backup 
leftfielder Yukihiko Sato reached on an infield hit. Reserve centerfielder Akira Otsuka rammed a double up the rightcenter gap and both Fukuura and Sato rode it home for the final margin of victory, 17-7. 

The 23 hits and 17 runs scored are season highs for Lotte. It also marked Lee's first four hit game in Japan. And Hatsushiba attained 1500 lifetime hits. Moreover, it was the ninth time that Orix has permitted the opposition to rack up ten or more runs against them this season. 

As an interesting sidelight, Satoshi Kuriyama, who had previously retired to become a batting practice pitcher, decided to unretire this season and made his first top club appearance, working a scoreless eighth and allowing only a walk. He was clocked at 88mph. Nevertheless, Ihara compared running this team to "whipping a dead man."

There was almost some fisticuffs as well. Lee slid hard into Saito to break up a double play and the two had words, causing the benches to empty. Nothing ultimately came of it. Manager Bobby Valentine later praised Lee for his hustle on the play.

But the big news was that ace Daisuke Matsuzaka threw in the