The Yomiuri Giants strengthened their position at the top of the Central League heap Sunday when they downed the Seibu Lions 4-1 for their fifth straight victory. Starter Hiroshi Kisanuki went six innings of one run, seven hit ball to go to 5-1 on the year as he is fast becoming the chief candidate for Comeback Player of the Year. 

Chris Gissel started for the Lions and wasn't bad, seven innings of three  run, eight hit pitching, but he fell to 1-6. 

Seibu put two on with one out in the second, but that was sabotaged on a popup and a flyout. 

Yomiuri then grabbed the initial lead of the contest in the third when centerfielder Takahiro Suzuki doubled down the leftfield line with one out and, following another out, leftfielder Yoshitomo  Tani, who was 4-10 against Gissel last season, doubled to leftcenter to usher Suzuki in to make it 1-0. 

But in the home edition, Lions leftfielder Takumi Kuriyama singled to center with one out and went to second on a groundout. Rightfielder Takahiko Sato doubled to rightcenter and Kuriyama found paydirt to knot it at one all. 

However, the Giants went after Gissel again in the fifth, as DH Damon Hollins crushed a middle-out fastball into the leftcenterfield stands. One out later, Suzuki singled to center and advanced to second on a groundout. Tani banged a single to left and Suzuki motored in to raise it to 3-1. 

Seibu attempted to compensate for that in the bottom portion by putting two on with two out, but Sato flew out to center to strand the runners. 

They also got a man to third with two outs in the seventh and paralayzed him on a groundout. 

Yomiuri rightfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi took reliever Koji Mitsui the opposite way and into the leftfield seats in the eighth to put it at 4-1. The Giants bullpen combination of Kiyoshi  Toyoda and Koji Uehara held the opposition to a hit over the final two frames to wrap it up and hand Seibu its fourth consecutive defeat. 

Toyoda, a onetime Lion, was clocked at 92mph. He was booed by his ex-team's fans when he entered the contest. 

Yomiuri began the interleague schedule 1-3, but have rebounded to 6-3, making this a different result during this part of the year from when the Giants went into the tank in 2006. 

Kisanuki's 105 pitches were the most he had throw this season.

For Seibu, first baseman Alex Cabrera was 1-4 and is at .333. 

For Yomiuri, Hollins was 1-4 and is at .269. First baseman Seung-yeop Lee was 0-4 with two strikeouts and is at .267. 

Chiba Lotte Marines starter Shunsuke Watanabe went the distance on a run and eight hits to shoot down the Yakult Swallows 5-1 Sunday at Chiba Marine Stadium. Swallows starter Shugo Fujii was assembling a whale of a ballgame for himself for seven innings, but then fell apart in the eighth and incurred his seventh loss. 

Lotte shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishiioka leadoff the bottom of the first inning by hammering an 0-2 center cut fastball that was down in the zone into the leftfield seats for a 1-0 lead. Fujii then retired the next 13 in a row as the Marines lineup had trouble transgressing the infield against him. 

In the meantime, Yakult had a man on second with one out in each of the first two innings and either struckout out or grounded out to ruin those chances. Watanabe really began to pile up the ground ball outs, as only oine of his outs in the entire contest would be in the air. 

In the sixth, though, Swallows DH Alex Ramirez and rightfielder Aaron Guiel each singled to right with two gone and backup leftfielder Ryuji Miyade singled to center to spring Ramirez in to level it at one all. Shortstop Shinya Miyamoto grounded to his opposite number to stand the runners up. 

Lotte had two on and two out in the bottom half and fouled that up with a flyout. 

Watanabe then faced down another two on and two out predicament in the seventh by inducing a grounder before putting six of the next seven away to seal it. 

Fujii, however, wasn't so stalwart. In the eighth, pinch hitter Koichi Hori carromed a shot off the leftfield fence for a double and Nishioka singled to left. A groundout to third caused Hori to hold but got Nishioka over to second. First baseman Kazuya Fukuura doubled to rightcenter and that propelled two in and knocked Fujii out of the game. He was spelled by Masato Hanada, who coughed up a single to center by Saburo Omura that invited Fukuura home. Omura took second on the throw home and, one out later, he wheeled to the plate on a single to center by leftfielder Benny Agbayani to run it up to 5-1. 

Fujii has lost five straight decisions. 

In his last 22 games, Fukuura has 11 multihit showings to elevate his average to .321. He has gone 17-38 (.447) during interleague play thus far.

For Yakult, Ramirez was 1-4 and is at .327. Rightfielder Aaron Guiel was 1-4 with two strikeouts and is at .243. 

For Lotte, Agbayani was 2-4 and is at .312. 

After losing both centerfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo and infielder Michihiro Ogasawara, one of the greatest hitters in all of Japanese history, to retirement and free agency respectively, the Nippon Ham Fighters started very slowly out of the gate and appeared headed for their historic mediocrity, but Sunday, starter Ryan Glynn one hit the Hanshin Tigers over six innings and the bullpen repressed the Osaka favorites on a hit the rest of the way for a 2-0 victory, their 11th in a row. If the Sapporo nine wins the Pacific League pennant this season, it will be one of the most astonishing managing jobs ever in NPB annals. 

Darwin Cubillan started for Hanshin and was charged with both Nippon Ham runs on three hits and 85 pitches during his four innings on the hill and was hung with his first loss of the campaign. 

The Fighters had two on with two out in the second, but that brought up leftfielder Tomochika Tsuboi, who is traditionally a bad hitter with runners in scoring position, and he grounded out to subvert a possible rally. 

In the fourth, though, Nippon Ham DH Fernando Seguignol doubled off the rightfield wall and third baseman Eiichi Koyano doubled down the leftfield line for a 1-0 lead. Cubillan unleashed a wild pitch and Koyano advanced to third. First baseman Tomoyuki Oda walked. Catcher Shinji Takahashi flied out to left and Koyano tagged up and scurried in to make it 2-0. They would generate only two more hits for the rest of the match. 

Glynn's control then abandoned him in the bottom segment when he walked shortstop Takashi Toritani with one out and, one out later, he also issued free passes to leftfielder Toamoaki Kanemoto and third baseman Makoto Imaoka to load the bases. But DH Shinjiro Hiyama popped up to first and Glynn would carry a no hitter into the sixth, where it was broken up on a double into the leftfielc corner by rightfielder Lin Wei-tzu with two outs. Kanemoto smoked a shot to leftcenter, but centerfielder Hichori Morimoto got on his horse and ran it down with a diving catch to keep the shutout intact. 

Glynn walked the first two men of the seventh in reaching the 115 pitch mark and manager Trey Hillman went to the bullpen for Hisashi Takeda, who bottled the Tigers up on the infield to bring the curatin down on the inning. 

Lin beat out a two out ground ball toward short in the eighth to get Kanemoto up to the plate as the tying run, but Takeda tempted him into a groundout and closer Michael Nakamura exiled three of the four men he saw in a hitless ninth to turn the lights out. 

The 11 consecutive victories tied a team record that they also equaled last season. It was Hillman's 300th triumph for his Japanese career (283 losses, 12 ties), making him the third foreigner to achieve that. The Fighters have won their last 13 day games and are 15-0 in their most recent times that Sapporo Dome has drawn 40,000 or more. It also stands to be noted that the club is without three members of its starting rotaion, Tomoya Yagi, Satoru Kanemura and Yoshinori Tateyama. Chunichi Sports observed  that if you count the eight straight defeats to Hiroshima, Hanshin is now 0-14 in its latest faceoffs with teams helmed by foreign skippers. By contrast, the Tigers were 12 games over .500 in 2006 against American shot callers. 

Nakamura, who pitched for the third straight game, said he was tired after it was over. 

This was the eighth time that the Tigers have been whitewashed this season. One cause of that is first baseman Andy Sheets, who is 1-13 in his last five times out. 

For Nippon Ham, Seguignol was 1-2 with two walks and is at .245. 

For Hanshin, Lin was 2-4 and is at .351. He also qualified for the batting title and is currently second to Yakult centerfielder Norichika Aoki. Sheets was 0-3 with an HBP and three strikeouts and is at .240. 

Softbank third baseman Hiroki  Kokubo's 12th career grand slam in the bottom of the sixth comprised all the scoring for the Hawks Sunday and it was adequate, as starter Toshiya Sugiuchi went eight innings of one run, five hit ball and struckout eight while walking one on 130 pitches in a 4-1 victory at Fukuoka Dome over Chunichi. 

Kenichi Nakata started for the Dragons and scattered three hits over his first five innings, but he went to the same well too many times against Kokubo and he endured his third defeat. 

Sugiuchi no hit Softbank over the first three innings, but in the fourth, singles by DH Kazuyoshi Tatsunami and rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome had something percolating for the Nagoya crew. But first baseman Tyrone Woods struckout and second baseman Masahiko Morino grounded into a double play to terminate the threat. 

However, in the sixth, catcher Motonobu Tanishige singled to left and went to second on a groundout. Tatsunami singled to left and Tanishige put it in gear for the plate and a 1-0 lead. 

But Softbank responded in the home edition with a ground ball by leftfielder Naoyuki Omura that was rolled deep into the hole on the left side and he outran the throw to first. Second baseman Yuichi Honda attempted to lay down a sac bunt, but he tapped it right back to Nakata, who fired to second for the force. Centerfielder Hitoshi Tamura singled to center. First baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka walked to load the bases. Kokubo was thrown five (!) straight fastballs, the first two of which were strikes, the next two of which were fouled off and the fifth Nakata tried to get up and in and left out over the plate and Kokubo toasted it into the leftfield seats to make it 4-1. 

And that is all Sugiuchi would need, as he tossed a perfect seventh and retired three of four in the eighth to flip the ball to closer Takahiro Mahara, who also did away with three of four batters to make it a memory. Sugiuchi is now tops in NPB in wins with nine and is headed for another Sawamura Award. 

Nakata's mom Ryoko was at the game holding a framed picture of his late father. This isn't uncommon in Japan, by the way. The symbolism is that Nakata's dad's spirit was able to watch the game. You will often see this at the Koshien Tournament, too. 

Sugiuchi has won his last seven decisions, tying a personal best. 

For Chunichi, Woods was 0-3 with a walk and three strikeouts and is at .311. 

Orix starter Yuki Tanaka went six solid innings of one run, six hit ball against Yokohama Sunday and five different Buffaloes batsmen had an RBI in a 6-2 victory at Kobe Green Stadium. Yuji Yoshimi started for Yokohama and was stained with his second loss after 5.2 innings of three run, five hit ball. 

Yokohama initially had a lead, as shortstop Takuro Ishii singled to center with one out in the first and rightfielder Katsuaki Furuki doubled to left. Third baseman Shuichi Murata grounded to short and Ishii crossed to make it 1-0. DH Takahiro Saeki popped up to short to keep it there. 

But in the second, Yoshimi walked DH Tuffy Rhodes and, one out later, third baseman Makoto Shiozaki singled to right and Rhodes sprinted into third. Shortstop Mitsutaka Goto grounded to short and Rhodes was in to equalize it at 1-1. 

Then in the fourth, Orix first baseman Hirotosh Kitagawa conked one into the leftfield stands to put it at 2-1. 

Tanaka sidestepped a two on and two out bit of unpleasantness with a groundout to cap off his stint in the sixth. 

In the bottom stanza, Kitagawa singled to right and Rhodes singled to left. Rightfielder Chad Allen doubled to left and Kitagawa was cashed in to widen it to 3-1. They were denied the possibility of more when Shiozaki grounded out. 

Goto singled to left in the seventh off of Joselo Diaz and went to second on a sacrfice. Pinch hitter Shintaro Yoshida legged out an infield hit. Centerfielder Hiroaki Onishi walked to pack the sacks. Takumi Nasuno was substituted for Diaz and Eiji Mizuguchi pinch hit for leftfielder Arihito Muramatsu and singled to left. Goto trod the dish. Nasuno threw a wild pitch and Yoshida hustled in for a 5-1 edge. Kitagawa struckout to stall the rally out. 

Rhodes rocked Hideki Kishimoto with a homer to left in the eighth to grow it to 6-1. 

The Bay Stars used a double to right by first baseman Yuki Yoshimura and two ground balls to second to get Yoshimura home to slice it to 6-2, but after Kinjo singled to center, second baseman Toshihisa Nishi popped up and it was game setto. 

Kinjo had two hits to make it 1,000 for his career. 

For Orix, Rhodes was 2-3 with a walk and is at .286. Allen was 1-4 and is at .224. 

Hiroshima starter Hiroki Kuroda dominated the Rakuten Golden Eagles Sunday, as he alloted them only four singles, one of them of the infield variety, and never permitted more than one runner in any inning and none of those touched third base in a 2-0 complete game shutout at Miyagi Prefectural Stadium. This frustrated yet another attempt by the Eagles to float above .500.

Shingo Matsuzaki made an emergency start (see note below) and was actually excellent, as he was done for only an unearned run on four hits in five innings in his fourth defeat. 

The Carp had two on and one out in the first before it was interdicted on a double play. 

They pressed Matsuzaki again in the fourth when centerfielder Akihiro Higashide walked and first baseman Kenta Kurihara singled to center. Third baseman Takahiro Arai beat out a dribbler to load the bases. DH Tomonori Maeda then tagged one right on the screws, but at first baseman Kevin Witt. Leftfielder Shigeru Morikasa grounded into a twin killing and that was that for the inning. 

In the fifth, though, rightfielder Go Kida singled to right and went to second on a sacrfice. Second baseman Takaaki Matsumoto grounded to second and it was booted by Yosuke Takasu. Shortstop Eishin Soyogi grounded to second to drive Kida in for a 1-0 lead. 

Soyogi singled in the eighth and went to second on a sacrifice and to third on a groundout. Arai singled to center and Soyogi jogged in to make it 2-0. That was their last hit. 

Kuroda amassed 17 ground ball outs to accompany five strikeouts and even manager Katsuya Nomura admitted that the Hiroshima ace was just too much for them to handle. 

Kuroda has won his last 13 daytime decisions going back to July 6, 2003. He was clocked at 93mph. 

For Hiroshima, leftfielder Rick Short was 0-2 and is at .321. He hit his head on the ground diving for a ball in the fifth and had to come out after the seventh. He was later diagnosed with a minor concussion. Third baseman Jose Fernandez was 0-2 with a walk and is at .214. Witt was 0-3 and is at .180. 

DH Julio Zuleta will leave for the stats Monday to have his broken pinky finger treated. He has tried to play through it, but finally thought better of it. 

Rakuten Pitcher Hiroki Yamamura, who was supposed to start Sunday, hurt his neck while sleeping the previous night and thus sat the game out. Manager Katsuya Nomura indicated that he would fine Yamamura 2.5 million yen (about $20,000). Whether that sticks or not is another question which depends on Nomura's mood as well as whether they want to risk alienating the players association. 

Seibu The Lions scouts will resume their work this coming week after being held out of thier activities due to a recent scandal. However, before they hit the road, they will be lectured Monday and Tuesday on how to approach their responsibilities and not run afoul of the rules.