The Seibu Lions got off to a 2-0 lead Saturday against Yomiuri that lasted through four innings, but then the Giants tallied up half a dozen runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth to lope to an 11-6 conclusion at Seibu Dome. Hisanori Takahashi started for the kyojin and picked up his Central League best seventh win with 6.2 innings of four run (two earned) ball on eight hits and 125 pitches.

Fumiya Nishiguchi started for the Lions and only had one relatively benign jam in the fourth and then just got blowed up real good, to quote John Candy, and finished with a line that read 4.1 innings, four runs and six this to even his record at 5-5. 

Seibu centerfielder Tomoaki Sato singled to center in the first and moved to second on a sacrifice. Rightfielder Takahiko Sato doubled to rightcenter to spring his teammate in for a 1-0 lead. 

They tacked on another in the second when DH Taketoshi Goto walked with one out and advanced to second on a groundout. Leftfielder Takumi Kuriyama singled to center to plate Goto and make it 2-0. 

Nishiguchi then walked third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara to begin the fourth and first basemaN Seung-yeop Lee singled to center. However, shortstop Tomohiro  Nioka grounded into a 4-6-3 double play and catcher Shinnosuke Abe struckout to strand the runners. 

But in the fifth, Yomiuri DH Damon Hollins singled to left and motored to third on an ensuing hit and run single to right by second baseman Ryota Wakiya. Centerfielder Takahiro Suzuki beat out a ground ball toward first and Hollins crossed. Rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi doubled to leftcenter and Wakiya and Suzuki both flew home. Takahashi was sacrficied over. Nishiguchi was sent to the showers in favor of Satoshi Yamazaki. One out later, Lee walked. Nioka got either a 3-2 sinker or a slider, depending on which account you want to believe, and socked it over the leftfield wall for a three run homer and his 1000th career knock to lend the Giants a 6-2 edge. 

Hollins subsequently walked in the sixth and Wakiya singled to right, Hollins sailing into third. Have we seen that movie somewhere before? Suzuki doubled into the leftfield corner and both Hollins and Wakiya journeyed to the promised land. Yoshinobu Takahashi walked. Leftfielder Yoshitomo Tani singled to center and Suzuki was in while Takahashi turned and burned for third. Ogasawara walked to load the bases. Kenji Yano pinch ran for Tani. Shuichiro Osada was summoned from the bullpen and with Lee up, he unleashed a wild pitch to permit Takahashi to bust across.  Nioka singled to left to redeem Yano to hike it to 11-2. Abe, the only starter who wouldn't reach base for Yomiuri in this one, flied out and Hollins grounded out to end the inning. They would obtain only one more safety for the duration. 

Seibu narrowed the gap just a little in the seventh, as Ogasawara booted Tomoaki Sato's grounder and, one out later, Takahiko Sato singled to left and Tomoaki sped into third while Takahiko snuck into second on the throw to third. First baseman Alex Cabrera singled to center and it was dueling Satos at the dish to shave it to 11-4. 

They worked hard for another deuce in the eighth against reliever Yushi Aida when third baseman Hiroshi Hirao singled to center and pinch hitter Hiroyuki Oshima doubled down the leftfield line. Pinch hitter Yoshihito Ishii grounded to first and Hirao scurried in. Kuriyama walked. Tomoaki Sato grounded to short and Oshima dashed in to make it 11-6. 

The Lions would put two on with one out in the ninth against Masanori Hayashi, but a pair of whiffs and a groundout stifled that and it was time to go back to the hotel. 

Nioka was just 2-25 in interleague action through Friday. He is the 25th Giant to attain 1000 hits and the 21st to do all of them with that organization. He is the third Yomiuri player in history to make the milennium with a dinger, the other two being Sadaharu Oh and Kazumasa Kono. 

For Seibu, Cabrera was 2-4 with a walk and is at .335. 

For Yomiuri, Lee was 1-3 with two walks and is at .272. Hollins was 1-4 with a walk and is at .270. 

A fifth inning squeeze bunt and some precarious but in the end successful relief enabled the Yakult Swallows to halt the Chiba Lotte Marines five game win spree and extend theirs to three in a 3-2 final at Chiba Marine Stadium. Shingo Ono went the distance for Lotte on ten hits and 105 pitches but was hung with his fourth loss in six decisions. 

Shohei Tateyama started for Yakult and was accorded his second shiroboshi with 6.1 innings of two run, six hit ball. 

The Marines put two on with nobody out in the second, but a double play and a strikeout ash canned that idea. 

The Swallows then seized the first lead of the contest in the third when catcher Masakazu Fukukawa thumped a 1-0 shuuto into the leftfield seats. 

But Lotte answered that in the fourth, as first baseman Kazuya Fukuura singled to right with one away and centerfielder Saburo Omura doubled to the rightfield wall and Fukuura put it in fourth for home. Omura moved to third on a groundout and rightfielder Benny Agbayani singled to center to snare a 2-1 advantage for the Marines. 

In the fifth, though, Swallows leftfielder Mitsuru Manaka singled to right and shortstop Shinya Miyamoto doubled to leftcenter. Manaka rounded third and aimed for home and the relay from shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka was off target to knot it at two apiece. Miyamoto moved to third on a groundout. Yasushi Iihara was ordered to squeeze by manager Atsuya Furuta and Miyamoto launched himself homeward. Iihara put the bunt down for the first squueze of his life, he says, and put Yakult back ahead 3-2. 

Lotte catcher Tasuku Hashimoto doubled with one out in the bottom portion and was paralyzed on a popup and a strikeout. 

And this would happen three more times. Fukuura doubled to left and was advanced to third on a sac bunt in the sixth and was turned into a statue as the next two men lined out and struckout respectively. Fukuura then doubled to left again with two outs in the eighth and stood there as Omura struckout. 

Shingo Takatsu mosied in from the pen for the ninth for the Swallows and backup third baseman Hisao Heiuchi scalded one off the centerfield wall for a one out double and insinuated himself into third on a groundout. But Third baseman Takeshi Aono grounded out to short and it was game setto. 

For Lotte, Agbayai was 1-2 and is at .307. He hurt his left foot while attempting to steal third in the fourth and had to be taken out. He is day to day. 

For Yakult, leftfielder Alex Ramirez was 1-4 and is at .328. Rightfielder Aaron Guiel was 0-4 and is at .243. 

Nippon Ham starter Yu Darvish was supposed to start the two most recent games on the schedule, but they were rained out, so he was given the nod here and went eight outstanding innings of one run, two hit ball on a mere 93 pitches to cadge an 8-5 victory at Sapporo Dome against Hanshin in his team's tenth consecutive triumph. 

Naohisa Sugiyama started for the Tigers and was rocked for six runs on seven hits in 3.2 innings to fall to 2-4. 

While Darvish no hit Hanshin over the initial third of the match, he was staked to a nice lead in the third when centerfielder Hichori Morimoto doubled to rightcenter with one out and second baseman Kensuke Tanaka doubled to left to scoot him in. Rightfielder Atsunori Inaba homered to center and that put it at 3-0. 

Tigers shortstop Takashi Toritani clubbed a Darvish delivery into the rightfield bleachers to pare it to 3-1 in the top of the fourth. 

However, in the home edition, leftfielder Tomochika Tsuboi singled to center and moved to second on a sacrifice. One out later, Morimoto singled to center to chase Tsuboi in. Sugiyama plunked Tanaka. Hanshin boss Akinobu Okada got on the horn to Makoto Yoshino and Inaba doubled to left to boost Morimoto across. DH Fernando Seguignol doubled to right for two RBIs and a 7-1 disparity. 

After serving up the homer to Toritani, Darvish permitted only one other hit through the end of his stint. 

He departeds with a larger lead, too, as third baseman Eiichi Koyano reached on an infield knock and went to second on a groundout. Catcher Shinya Tsuruoka grounded to Toritani, who threw it away, and Koyano wandered home to stretch it to 8-1. 

Hideki Sunaga was substituted for Darvish to begin the ninth and Tigers pinch hitter Kodai Sakurai doubled to left and Toritani walked. Rightfielder Lin Wei-tzu singled to right to pack the sacks. Leftfielder Tomoaki Kanemoto poleaxed one into the centerfield stands for a grand slam to bring his squad within 8-5. Shintaro Ejiri was entrusted with the ball and third baseman Makoto Imaoka singled to center and DH Shinjiro Hiyama singled to right. What had been a laugher was now reaching critical mass, so manager Trey Hillman resorted to the pen for closer Michael Nakamura, who walked first baseman Andy Sheets to swell the bags and put the tying run on. But a popup and a groundout poured cold water on the fire to send the home folks away happy. 

Darvish has won three straight decisions from Hanshn. Irony? Darvish grew up in Osaka. 

For Nippon Ham, Seguignol was 2-4 and is at .242. 

For Hanshin, Sheets was 0-2 with two walks and is at .243. Lin was 1-4 and is at .347. 

Chunichi ace Kenshin Kawakami went seven innings of three run, nine hit ball and second baseman Masahiko Morino connected for a two run homer in the sixth that would prove to be the deciding blow in a 4-3 victory at Fukuoka Dome to hand Softbank helmsman Sadaharu Oh his 1000th career loss in that role. 

Rick Guttormson started for the Hawks and was perfect for four innings, but he would ultimately be buffeted for four runs on seven hits in 5.2 innings to get stained with his fifth defeat. 

Kawakami, though, wasn't having it so easy at the outset, as a Softbank player singled in each of the first three innings, a precursor to the fact that the birds of prey would leave ten on for the entire contest. But they did get to Kawakami in the fourth, as first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka tripled off the leftcenterfield wall and eased in on a single from third baseman Hiroki Kokubo for a 1-0 lead. 

Guttormson then had some difficulty the second time around the middle of the Chunichi order in the fifth. First baseman Tyrone Woods singled to center and was subsequently thrown out attempting to steal second. Morino singled to right. Third baseman Norihiro Nakamura singled to left. Centerfielder Byung-kyu Lee grounded into a 5-4 force. Leftfielder Kazuki Inoue singled to left to plate Morino. Catcher Motonobu Tanishige walked to repack the sacks. Shortstop Hirokazu Ibata walked to force Nakamura in for a 2-1 edge. DH Kazuyoshi Tatsunami flied out to impede further home invasions. 

In the sixth, Dragons rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome terminated an 0-31 slump with a double to leftcenter and, one out later, Morino powdered a 90mph fastball up in the zone over the rightfield wall to enhance the lead to 4-1. 

But in the seventh, Kokubo and catcher Hidenori Tanoue each singled to center and rightfielder Hiroshi Shibahara singled to left to turn Kokubo in. Two outs later, leftfielder Naoyuki Omura singled to right and Tanoue raced in to shorten it to 4-3. Second baseman Yuichi Honda, though, fanned. 

After Hawks reliever Akio Mizuta struckout the side in the eighth, his teammates in the batting order endeavored to set him up for a win in their turn. Centerfielder Hitoshi Tamura singled to left and was erased on a 4-6- force on a ground ball from Matsunaka. One out later, Tanoue ripped a hanging slider off the rightcenterfield fence for a double. Shibahara walked to juice the bags. Pinch hitter Adam Hyzdu, however, struckout and the rally fizzled. 

Closer Hitoki Iwase ascended the hill for the ninth for Chunichi and, with one out, Omura singled to left and was sacrificed to second (???). But Matsunaka popped up to short to put it in the books. 

Oh is just the ninth manager ever to get into four figures in losses. 

Kawakami is now tied with Kazumi Saito for the second most career interleague wins with nine. 

For Chunichi, Woods was 1-4 and is at .317. Lee was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .270. 

For Softbank, Hyzdu was 0-2 with two strikeouts and is at .283. Buchanan was 0-1 in a pinch hit appearance and is at .256. C.J. Nitkowski also got into the game and threw a scoreless inning on a hit. His ERA is currently 1.35. 

Orix starter Yoshihisa Hirano twirled 8.1 innings of one run, five hit ball and struckout seven while walking one to best the Yokohama Bay Stars 3-1 at Kobe Green Stadium. They were dominated by Yokohama starter Daisuke Miura for six innings on three hits, but they solved him for a three spot in the seventh and that would be the tale here. 

Orix third baseman Greg LaRocca and DH Tuffy Rhodes each singled with two outs in the first, but first baseman Hirotoshi Kitagawa grounded out and that was the closest thing to a threat over the first four innings.

In the fifth, though, the Stars had two on and one out, only to see that opportunity evaporate on a double play ball. Hirano then showed Yokohama up in the sixth by striking out the side. 

So it was still a scoreless standoff until the seventh, when Buffs shortstop Mitsutaka Goto singled to center with one away and second baseman Masahiro Abe doubled to left to clear enough room for Goto to blaze around the bases for a 1-0 lead. Catcher Takeshi Hidaka singled to right. One out later, leftfielder Arihito Muramatsu doubled to left and Hidaka rumbled all the way around from first to score to make it 3-0 and knock Miura out of the game. 

Hirano was perfect in the eighth and he would be back at the center of the diamond for the ninth. With one out, rightfielder Katsuaki Furuki singled to center. Closer Daisuke Kato supplanted Hirano and retired the next man on a popup. But DH Takahiro Saeki singled to right and Furuki hotfooted it to third. Kato threw one by Hidaka for a wild pitch and Furuki broke into home to put it at 3-1. That was as far as it went, however, as first baseman Yuki Yoshimura went down on strikes to ice it and disrupt the herd's three game slide. . 

Yokohama has dropped their last five and are 1-13 in their most recent 14 times out. 

For Orix, LaRocca was 2-4 and is at .332, but he also hurt a heel running to first in the seventh and had to be removed. He is day to day. Rhodes was 1-3 with a walk and is at .280. Rightfielder Chad Allen was 0-3 and is at .222. 

The Rakuten Golden Eagles left 11 men on and had two runners thrown out on steal attempts, but thanks to seven stellar innings of one run, four this ball by starter Kanehisa Arime, they nonetheless outperformed the Hiroshima Carp at Miyagi Prefectural Stadium for a 3-1 victory. Arime actually wasn't involved in the final decision, Hisashi Ogura being awarded the win, the 50th of his career, after a perfect eighth. 

Jared Fernandez started for Hiroshima and went 5.1 innings of one run, eight hit pitching and struckout five while walking none in a no decision. 

There was little action until the third, when centerfielder Koichi Ogata singled to left and then was nailed at second attempting to thieve a bag. That would be big because rightfielder Jun Hirose singled to center and catcher Yoshiyuki Ishihara singled to left. A strikeout and a flyout then averted disaster for Arime and he would hold the fish hitless until the sixth. 

In the bottom half, Eagles shortstop Naoto Watanabe singled to right and then was gunned down in a steal attempt. Second baseman Yosuke Takasu singled to center and stole second, but a flyout and a popup stalled that opportunity out. 

But in the fourth, Rakuten third baseman Jose Fernandez walked with one out and first baseman Kevin Witt and centerfielder Teppei Tsuchiya each singled to center to load the bases. Catcher Akihito Fujii flied out to right and Fernandez tagged up and crossed for a 1-0 lead. Watanabe grounded out for the third out. 

In the sixth, though, Carp second baseman Akihiro Higashide walked with one away and went to third on a single to center by first baseman Kenta Kurihara. Third baseman Takahiro Arai flied out to center and Higashide tagged up and toed the dish to level it at 1-1. DH Tomonori Maeda popped up and the Carp offense would never be heard from again, as nine of the next ten men were retired. 

Rakuten filled the bases with one out in the bottom half, but that collapsed on a double play ball. 

Hiroshima's suspect defense then showed itself in the eighth. Fernandez single to left and Witt walked. The runners were sacrficied along. Kenshi Kawaguchi pinch hit for Fujii and rolled one to Soyogi, who allowed it to go through th wickets, and both Fernandez and Witt negotiated their way home to go up 3-1. Closer Kazuo Fukumori was flawless in the ninth and the Eagles were back at .500. 

Carp headman Marty Brown grumbled to the press afterward that even a two year old could get his hitters out with the way they are swinging the bat right now. They have averaged just 2.3 runs a game during interleague play. 

For Rakuten, Fernandez was 1-2 with two walks and is at .217. Witt was 1-3 with a walk and is at .185. 

Softbank The Hawks announced the acquisition of former Tampa Bay, Texas, Cincinnati and Kansas City righthander Jason Standridge. He will reportedly make 30 million yen this season (about $250,000).

Shortstop Munenori Kawasaki, who has been out with a middle finger fracture, made a rehab start in the Western League Saturday and went 0-4.