Hiroyuki Kobayashi started for Lotte and was superb, spinning six shutout innings on three hits, though he walked four and hit a batter, and he was followed by two innings of no hit relief from Soichi Fujita and Yasuhiko Yabuta before Masahide Kobayashi let the lead get away. 

Hsu Ming-chieh started for Seibu and was outstanding as well, permitting only a run on three hits and four walks in seven innings. The Lions bullpen took it from there, ringing up a combined four innings of one hit shutout baseball, sidearmer Tetsuya Shiozaki snagging his first win of the year. 

Neither starter had any real problems through the first three innings, but in the fourth, Seibu first baseman Masahide Kaizuka tripled 
off the centerfield wall. However, Kobayashi put the boot in and struckout the side. 

Hsu had his only jam in the sixth and Lotte capitalized, as first baseman Kazuya Fukuura walked with one out and leftfielder Matt Franco and centerfielder Benny Agbayani singled to left to load the bases. DH Seung-yeop Lee flied out to center and Fukuura tagged up and crossed for a 1-0 advantage. 

Seibu attempted to counter that in the home episode, as leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada doubled to right with one away and, one out later, pinch hitter Yoshihito Ishii and shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima walked to pack the sacks. Pinch hitter  Hiroshi Hirao, though, struckout. 

Lotte had a chance to buy some insurance in the eighth when second baseman  Koichi Hori singled to center and went to second on a sac bunt. One out later, Agbayani was intentionally walked to get to Lee, who struckout. 

Chikara Onodera struckout the side in the ninth for Seibu, so it moved into the bottom stanza and Kobayashi walked Ishii, who went to second on a groundout. Backup catcher Koji Tahara singled to right. Sato spanked a single to center and it was knotted at one all. 
Masahide Kobayashi induced two ground balls to prevent the humiliation of being hung with the defeat, but with Lotte's offense quiet as a door mouse,
it passed into the 11th.

Nakajima walked and went to second on a groundout. One out later, centerfielder Hiroyuki Shibata grounded to Fukuura, who booted it. Ozeki wacked Takashi Kawai's fastball over shortstop Makoto Kosaka's head and into leftcenter and that was the ballgame. 

Takagi was submerged in some hot water in the first, as DH Tomoyuki Oda scorched a double down the rightfield line and third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara walked. But first baseman Fernando Seguignol grounded into a double play to wriggle out of it. 

In the second, though, a bad defensive play (and an equally dubious decision by the official scorer) screwed Takagi's night up. Leftfielder Angel Echevarria walked. Rightfielder Katsuhiro Nishiura, though, grounded into a twin killing. Catcher Shinji Takahashi singled to right. Second baseman Kuniyuki Kimoto whipped a line drive to left that should have been caught, but Fumitoshi Takano dropped it and it was called a single. Shortstop Makoto Kaneko dunked one near the line in right for an RBI. Centerfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo pinged a first pitch 85mph fastball  off the rightfield wall for a two run double and a 3-0 Fighters lead. 

Rightfielder Daisuke Masuda crushed a slider into the rightfield seats for Kintetsu with two outs in the bottom of the inning, but the Buffs musterd only one more hit through the sixth as Kanemura was dealing. 

In the seventh, though, Kintetsu could have tied it, as DH Larry Barnes singled to center with two down and Masuda and second baseman 
Eiji Mizuguchi walked to juice the bags. But second baseman Osamu Hoshino grounded to third and Kanemura's lead was still intact.

Hector Carrasco, whose days are looking numbered in Osaka, climbed the hill for Kintetsu in the ninth and walked Seguignol and saw Echevarria singled to center. Both men were advanced on a sac bunt. Takahashi struckout. Kimoto walked to load the bases. But Carrasco then blew Kaneko away to survive the uprising. 

Michiyama Yokohama trotted in to close it out and the first two men grounded to third, but then Barnes and Masuda singled to left. Mizuguchi, though, grounded out to turn the lights out. 

Shimizu had some disomfort in his calf in the seventh and persevered through it, making his showing even more remarkable. Kintetsu has now lost its last 11 games when they started a lefty. 

Daiei had the upper hand immediately, as second baseman Tadahito Iguchi singled to left and, one out later, leftfielder Pedro Valdez' grounder was misplayed by second baseman Shugo Makita. The runners moved up on a groundout and Johjima took an 85mph fastball from Orix starter Trey Moore and conked it into the centerfield seats for a 3-0 lead.

Moore than had massive control difficulties in the third. With two outs, he walked first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka, Johjima, centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara and DH Julio Zuleta all in a row to force a run in and make it 4-0. 

Moore's night then ended in the fifth, as Valdez singled to left, Matsunaka singled to right and Johjima slaughtered a slider that was down and over the heart of the plate and deposited it into the mezzanine section to push it to 7-0 Hawks. One out later, Moore hit his second man of the game and manager Haruki Ihara went to the pen for Hisashi Tokano, who obtained the final two outs. 

Daiei amassed three more hits in the sixth, but didn't drive any of them in. In the seventh, though, rightfielder Kazuyuki Takahashi singled to center with one down and pinch hitter Mizuki Tanaka walked. Iguchi singled to center to slingshot Takahashi in and it was 8-0. 

And they still weren't through. In the eighth, Matsunaka homered to right. Reliever Takashi Aiki nailed Johjima with a pitch, the third HBP by an Orix pitcher of the night. Shibahara walked to fill the basepaths. Zuleta grounded into a 1-2 force. Takahashi flied out to center and Johjima tagged up and hustled in. Tanaka walked. Pinch hitter Kazuhiko Miyaji singled to right and the disparity was 11-0. 

Wada sought to complete the shutout in the ninth, but it didn't happen. Centerfielder Arihito Muramatsu singled to right with one out. Shortstop Hidemitsu Saito shoved one into the leftfield seats and it was 11-2. Following another out, leftfielder Yoshitomo Tani singled to left. However, catcher Takashi Miwa flied out to left and this one was a memory. The Hawks have won five straight. 

Johjima is now tied with Fernando Seguignol for the Pacific League homer lead with 22. 

Daiei has connected for six three run homers in four games.