The Yakult Swallows, 0-12-1 in their last 13 games, did a little lineup shuffle Thursday, putting slugging second baseman Tetsuto Yamada into the leadoff spot and putting ace pinch-hitter Shingo Kawabata in the No. 3 hole as the season’s first interleague series wrapped up.
Fighters 5, Swallows 2: At Kitahiroshima Taxpayers’ Burden Field, Shingo Kawabata was pushed into the starting lineup as the No. 3 hitter and had three hits that led to runs. A first-inning error and a Kawabata infield single set the table for Munetaka Murakami‘s RBI single off Takayuki Kato (4-3).
Kawabata singled again in the third, before Murakami hit his 10th homer to make it 3-0 on a pitch and a swing that really had no business producing a home run. Kawabata singled in another run in the seventh, and Cy Sneed (4-2) struck out six over seven innings.
Lions 4, Tigers 2: At Seibu Dome, Tetsu Miyagawa (1-0), won his belated season debut, allowing a run over five innings. Hanshin opened the scoring in the second, when Ryo Watanabe singled in Yusuke Oyama, but Miyagawa left the bags juiced and the Lions came back in the home half on a two-run Sena Tsuge double after David MacKinnon started the inning with a leadoff single.
Seibu made it 4-1 in the fifth on Seiji Kawagoe‘s two-run homer off Masashi Ito (2-1). Four Lions relievers combined to allow just two walks and a hit over the final four innings with Tatsushi Masuda earning his eighth save.
Giants 3, Marines 2: At Chiba Marine Stadium, Kazuma Okamoto doubled in two first-inning runs off Jose Castillo (0-1) and made it 3-0 in the third on his 12th home run. Giants starter Iori Yamasaki (4-1) promptly gave that run back with three walks and a sac fly by former Giant Gregory Polanco, but lasted seven innings to get the win.
Lotte scored a ninth-inning run after two were down in the ninth against Taisei Ota, but the Giants closer held on for his 11th save.
DenialStars 11, Eagles 3: At Miyagi Stadium, Maikel Franco‘s RBI single gave Rakuten a 1-0 first-inning lead against Katsuki Azuma (5-2) before the game went south in a hurry. Neftali Soto, bothered by a sore toe the day before, doubled in the first of three second-inning runs, and Deniers led 9-1 after four. Azuma struck out seven over seven innings, while allowing just one unearned run.
Buffaloes 9, Carp 2: At Osaka Dome, Orix rookie Shumpeita Yamashita (-4-0-) allowed a fourth-inning unearned run on an error and a Shogo Sakakura single, but the Buffaloes blew Robert Corniel (0-3-) out of the game in a four-run fifth. Buffaloes rookie Tokumasa Chano singled in two in the fifth to put Orix up 2-1, singled and scored in the seventh, and hit a grand slam in the eighth.
Dragons 6, Hawks 5: At Fukuoka Dome, Tatsuru Yanagimachi singled in two runs in the first, and snapped a 2-2 third-inning tie when Kensuke Kondo scored on his infield single. Dragons rookie Hiroki Fukunaga tied it 2-2 with a second-inning sacrifice fly, singled and score the go-ahead run in the fifth on a two-run Seiya Hosokawa double and homered to lead off the seventh and make it 5-3. Yuki Yanagita doubled in a run and scored the tying run in a two-run seventh.
