Therefore, Lotte starter Yoshihisa Naruse was bestowed with his second win even if he was hit up for four runs on seven hits in six innings. 

The Lions were staked to a 1-0 lead in the first when centerfielder Tomoaki Sato singled to center and went to second on a sacrifice. Shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima singled to right and chased Sato in. 

Sato singled to center in the third and was advanced on a sacrifice and then went to third on a groundout. First baseman Alex Cabrera seared a shot down the leftfield line for a double and Sato was in again to make it 2-0. 

But in the fourth, Lotte centerfielder Daisuke Hayakawa walked with one out and, following another out, first baseman Julio Zuleta walked. Catcher Tomoya Satozaki singled to center to see Hayakawa in and slice it to 2-1. Leftfielder Benny Agbayani walked to load the bases. However, DH Tasuku Hashimoto struckout to quiet things down. 

Well, momentarily, anyway. In the fifth, third baseman Toshiaki Imae singled to left and went to second on a sacrifice. Following another out, Hayakawa singled to left. Rightfielder Saburo Omura singled to center to ring Imae in. Zuleta got a 1-2 hanging cutter and brutalized it into the centerfield seats for a three run homer. Satozaki singled to right. Agbayani tied into a 1-0 fastball that was also elevated and hurtled it over the leftfield wall and the Marines had it in hand 7-2. 

The Lions crept to within 7-3 in the sixth when Cabrera bludgeoned a pitch that was middle out into the centerfield stands for his 250th career homer in his 733rd Japanese game, tying the record for fastest to that number of dingers set by then Kintetsu DH Ralph Bryant. Cabrera is also the 50th man in NPB annals to 250. 

Seibu narrowed the gap slightly more in the seventh, as third baseman Takeya Nakamura doubled to left and catcher Toru Hosokawa singled to right. Kawasaki took the ball from Naruse and second baseman Hiroshi Hirao flew out to right. Sato flew out to center and Nakamura tagged up and crossed to put it at 7-4. Leftfielder Kazuki Fukuchi singled to right and Nakajima was up representing the tying run. Tadahiro Ogino came on and Nakajima struckout. Yasuhiko Yabuta and Soichi Fujita combined to hamper the Lions on one hit after that to secure the victory. 

Lotte's final runs came in the ninth when Omura singled to center and, two outs later, reserve leftfielder Takenori Daita was hit by a pitch. Backup DH Naotaka Takehara barbecued one to leftcenter and both runners motored around to score on a long single and so 9-4 it was. 

For Seibu, Cabrera was 2-4 and is at .263. He still hopes to hit 50 homers, but only has four right now. 

For Lotte, Zuleta was 1-4 with a walk and is at .266. Agbayani was 1-2 with two walks and is at .256. 

A solo homer in the sixth by Softbank third baseman Hiroki Kokubo as well as a solid job by the bullpen earned the Hawks their seventh straight victory Sunday, this one by a 6-5 total over Orix at Kobe Green Stadium. Yasushi Kamiuchi started for the birds of prey but was yanked in the fourth after three innings of three run, seven hit ball and Michinao Yamamura was credited with the win even though he gave up two unearned runs. 

Yoshihisa Hirano started for the Buffaloes and was abused for six runs on seven hits, including three homers, in 5.1 innings to fall to 1-3. 

Softbank second baseman Yuichi Honda doubled to rightcenter with one out in the first and, one out later, first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka singled to left to tally him up for a 1-0 lead. 

But the herd reacted by seeing that one and rasing the Hawks one in their turn. Shortstop Keiji Obiki, who is just on fire right now, singled to right with one out and, following another out, DH Tuffy Rhodes poleaxed a 3-2 hanging breaking ball into the rightfield stands to make it 2-1 Buffs. 

Then it got a little wild in the second. Orix first baseman Eiji Mizuguchi singled to center and centerfielder Yuichiro Mukae hit a seeing eye grounder through the right side for a single, Mizuguchi wheeling into third. One out later, manager Terry Collins called for the squeeze and catcher Daisuke Maeda whiffed on it, Hawks receiver Hidenori Tanoue tagging Mizuguchi out at the plate and then whipping the ball to first to try get Mukae in a rundown. But Matsunaka dropped the ball and it rolled away from him, so Mukae tried to turn at second and head for third and was cut down by Matsunaka's peg to Kokubo for the third out. 

Honda then ignited another Softbank rally in the third with a two out double to left and continued home on a single to right by leftfielder Hitoshi Tamura. Matsunaka thundered a hanging slider 420 feet away into the rightfield seats and the Hawks had a 4-2 advantage. 

The Buffaloes, though, got an infield single from leftfielder Hiroaki Onishi, a hit and run single to center by Obiki that sent Onishi to third and a double play that permitted Onishi to score to pare it to 4-3 in their half of the inning. 

DH Adam Hyzdu entered his objection to that in the top of the fourth for Softbank when he got a fastball up in his wheelouse and plowed it into the leftfield bleachers to put it at 5-3. 

Orix didn't take that lying down. In the fifth, Onishi sent a flair into left off of Yamamura and Tamura went for the diving catch but dropped it and Onishi sped into second on what was ruled a double. Obiki grounded to Honda, who threw it into the first base stands, and Onishi was awarded home on the error. A ground ball moved Obiki to third. Rhodes walked. Third baseman Makoto Shiozaki flied out to right and Obiki tagged up and hustled across to level it at five all. Mizuguchi doubled to left, but that would be the last Buffaloes safety through eight. 

Tamura would have to leave after that inning because he hurt his left quad. 

Kokubo stepped up in the sixth, however, and parked an 88mph fastball that was down in the zone in the centerfield seats to put the Hawks back up 6-5. 

An HBP and a one out walk had Orix threatening again in the bottom half, but that was repulsed on a double play. 

This affair quieted down in the eighth. But in the ninth, Obiki doubled to right with one out against closer Takahiro Mahara and, one out later, Rhodes was intentionally walked. Hirotoshi Kitagawa pinch hit for Shiozaki and struckout to make it a memory. It also put the Hawks in first. 

This was the 28th time in their careers in Fukuoka that Matsunaka and Kokubo had gone yard in the same game. And the team is 25-3 in those matches. 

Hirano told the press after it was over that his fastball wasn't moving much at all. 

Hawks centerfielder Naoyuki Omura played in his 1500th lifetime game. 

This was Obiki's first three hit game in the pros and he now has a ten game hit streak to float his average up to .304. 

For Softbank, Hyzdu was 1-4 and is at .333. 

For Orix, Rhodes was 2-3 with two walks and is at .266. 

The Rakuten Golden Eagoles are just the cure that the ailing Nippon Ham Fighters needed after their recent losing skid, as the Sapporo nine shook Eagles starter Koji Aoyama down for six runs, five earned, on seven hits for their third consecutive victory by a 7-1 margin. Tomoya Yagi is now 3-2 after he supressed Rakuten on a run and nine hits in seven innings. 

Nippon Ham centerfielder Hichori Morimoto singled to center to commence the game and went to second on a groundout. Rightfielder Atsunori Inaba singled to left to carry Morimoto home. DH Fernando Seguignol powdered an Aoyama pitch into the centerfield seats and it was 3-0. 

They bolstered that in the second when Aoyama threw shortstop Makoto Kaneko's grounder away, which allowed Kaneko to reach second. After he moved to third on a groundout, third baseman Yang Chung-shou singled to left for his first pro RBI to make it 4-0. Yang also stole second in that inning, his first ever at the top level ever. 

Kaneko subsequently walked in the fourth and first baseman Yukio Tanaka, who was Saturday's hero with that big slam, got a hanging cutter and ratcheted it into the leftfield bleachers to improve it to 6-0. 

Rakuten had two on and one out int he bottom half, but that was disappeared on a twin killing.

They loaded the bases in the sixth on three one out singles, but that was neutralized on a strikeout and a flyout. 

Their only run would come in the seventh when catcher Motohiro Shima brought the good wood to a Yagi offering and lofted it in the leftfield stands to make it 6-1. They would get just one more hit for the rest of the day. 

Nippon Ham had one more run in the them, that being in the ninth. Morimoto doubled to right for his third hit that pulled him up to .290 and second baseman converted Morimoto with a single to right and that was hot it ended, 7-1.

For Rakuten, first baseman Jose Fernandez was 1-4 and is at .244. Third baseman Rick Short was 1-4 and is at .299. 

For Nippon Ham, Seguignol was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .273. Yang was 1-4 and is at .200. 

Orix Third baseman Greg LaRocca and first baseman Hirotoshi Kitagwa sat Sunday's game out with colds. 

Softbank Number one college pick Kenji Otonari, who has been hindered by injuries in his rookie season, started in a practice game against a Shikoku Island League all star team and permitted two runs on five hits in three innings in his first outing since leaving college. Top team manager Sadaharu Oh was just glad to see the much hyped Otonari on the hill and will wait until he works himself into game shape before he gets brought up.