Greisinger handcuffs Dragons as Marines win interleague opener

Seth Greisinger pitched three-hit ball over eight innings, leading the Chiba Lotte Marines to a 3-1 win over the Chunichi Dragons as interleague play got under way on Wednesday.

Take flight: Swallows outfielder Lastings Milledge rounds third after his two-run home run against the Hawks on Wednesday at Jingu Stadium. KYODO

Greisinger (4-1) struck out eight and walked one and Yasuhiko Yabuta finished things off at Nagoya Dome as Lotte won its fifth in a row and improved to 11-4 with two ties on the road.

Greisinger came within three outs of his first shutout since April 21, 2009, when he did so for the Yomiuri Giants against the Yakult Swallows. Yabuta allowed an RBI grounder to Tony Blanco in the ninth, but got Hirokazu Ibata to fly out to left to end it for his 12th save.

Katsuya Kakunaka hit a two-out, run-scoring single in the first off Kenichi Nakata (3-2), extending his RBI streak to five games. Kazuya Fukuura and Hisao Heiuchi added run-scoring singles in the ninth.

Chunichi had a chance to tie it 1-1 when Yohei Oshima tried scoring from second on Masahiro Araki's one-out single in the sixth, but center fielder Yoshifumi Okada made a pinpoint throw to catcher Tomoya Satozaki for the out at home.

Giants 6, Buffaloes 0

At Tokyo Dome, Yoshinobu Takahashi hit a grand slam to complete a five-run first inning, and Satoshi Fukuda (1-1) picked up the win with three scoreless innings in relief.

Last-place Orix is winless in its last six games, including a tie.

Fighters 3, Tigers 1

At Nishinomiya's Koshien Stadium, Mitsuo Yoshikawa tossed one-run ball over six innings, and Yoshio Itoi led off the game with a homer as Hokkaido Nippon Ham beat Hanshin to snap a three-game skid.

Yoshikawa, who leads the Pacific League with a 1.13 ERA, gave up two hits, struck out six and walked one for the win. Jason Standridge (3-3) was tagged for the loss for Hanshin, which slipped into fourth place in the Central League.

Eagles 1, Carp 0, (11)

At Hiroshima Mazda Stadium, Jose Fernandez delivered a pinch-hit RBI double off closer Dennis Sarfate (0-3) with two outs in the 11th inning, lifting Tohoku Rakuten over Hiroshima and into third place in the PL with its sixth straight win.

Wataru Karashima went 8? scoreless innings in a pitching duel against Bryan Bullington, who pitched nine innings with 10 strikeouts. Jim Heuser (1-0) got his first win in Japan with 1? innings of scoreless relief. Hiroshima was held to just one hit.

Swallows 14, Hawks 3

At Jingu Stadium, Lastings Milledge hit a two-run home run in the first inning and finished with four RBIs on the night as Tokyo Yakult routed the defending Japan Series champions.

The run support came in handy for Swallows starter Masanori Ishikawa (3-4) who allowed three runs on nine hits and struck out two in the victory.

Lions 3, BayStars 1

At Yokohama Stadium, Lions slugger Takeya Nakamura homered for the first time in 125 plate appearances during the second inning and the Lions opened their interleague schedule with a win over the BayStars.

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Marines edge Hawks in 11 on sac fly

CHIBA — Katsuya Kakunaka didn't look comfortable being on the hero interview. At the level he's playing right now, he had better get used to it.

No decision: Chiba Lotte starter Yuki Karakawa pitches in the eighth inning against Softbank on Saturday at QVC Marine Field. The Marines edged the Hawks 3-2 in 11 innings. KYODO

Kakunaka drove in the winning run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 11th inning and the Chiba Lotte Marines continued their dominance of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks with a 3-2 win on Saturday afternoon at QVC Marine Field.

Kakunaka had a chance to end the game with two away in the ninth, but struck out with runners on first and second.

"The previous at-bat was regrettable," Kakunaka said. "But I was able to come through in the end.

"Everyone contributed. I'm very happy."

Lotte extended its current winning streak to three with its first sayonara win of the season. The Marines have taken four straight against the Hawks and are 6-1-1 against Softbank this year.

The series is the last league action each team will see for a few weeks as the interleague schedule begins Wednesday.

Kakunaka finished 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Tadahito Iguchi went 2-for-4, and gave Lotte an early lead with a two-run home run in the first inning.

"We had a runner on first, so I was determined get something out of the chance," Iguchi said.

"I was able to make a good adjustment on a breaking ball. This is the last series before interleague play. I hope to be able to enter the interleague schedule in good condition."

Shunichi Nemoto had the Marines' only other hit, a triple in the 11th that set the stage for Kakunaka's heroics.

Yuhei Nakaushiro (2-0) threw one scoreless inning to earn the win in relief. Softbank's Masahiko Morifuku (0-1) was charged with the loss.

Hiroki Kokubo drove in the Hawks' only runs with a two-run single in the eighth that left him seven shy of reaching the 2,000-hit milestone.

Runs proved tough to come by against the two starters, who matched each other nearly pitch-for-pitch.

Softbank's Tadashi Settsu gave up a pair of runs in the first inning then held Lotte scoreless over the next eight. Settsu allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked three in his nine frames on the mound.

Marines starter Yuki Karakawa allowed a pair of runs over eight innings. Karakawa, who notched complete-game wins in his previous two starts against Softbank, gave up eight hits, struck out three and walked three.

HAKODATE, HOKKAIDO — The Seibu Lions built a 9-1 lead in the first two innings, featuring Shogo Akiyama's bases-clearing triple in the second, and held off a late surge to defeat the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 9-8 on Saturday.

Kazuhisa Ishii (3-0) limited the damage to three runs in 6? innings for the win. Esteban German and Yutaro Osaki hit back-to-back two-run singles off Yuki Saito (4-2) in the first inning.

Eagles 2, Buffaloes 1

At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, Kazuo Matsui broke a 1-1 tie with a run-scoring single off Yoshihisa Hirano (1-1) in the eighth inning as Tohoku Rakuten won four in a row for the first time this season to return to .500.

Takahiro Shiomi (4-3) pitched one-run ball over 7? innings and Koji Aoyama picked up his fourth save.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

BayStars 2, Tigers 1

At Yokohama Stadium, Daisuke Miura came within three outs of pitching a no-hitter and Yuki Yoshimura broke a scoreless tie with a two-run double in the sixth inning as Yokohama beat Hanshin.

Miura (4-1), who struck out one in a 112-pitch outing, walked two batters in the first inning but had a no-hitter intact through the eighth before allowing a leadoff single to pinch hitter Shinjiro Hiyama in the final inning.

"I didn't want to walk the batter, and a homer would have made it a one-run ballgame," Miura said after Hiyama hit a full-count fastball off the wall in right. "I hope to pitch more and more innings for our team."

Miura also allowed a one-out single by Keiichi Hirano and Matt Murton had an RBI groundout on an attempted double play.

Minoru Iwata (2-5) took the loss for the Tigers, who saw their winning streak end after three games.

Yoshimura sent a ball into the gap in right-center in the sixth.

"I was ready to go on the first pitch after he put the ball over the plate. I was just praying for it to fall into the gap," said Yoshimura.

Dragons 3, Carp 0

At Hiroshima's Mazda Stadium, Tony Blanco hit solo homers in consecutive at-bats, and Shinji Iwata threw 5? scoreless innings to help Chunichi end a two-game skid in a win over Hiroshima.

Carp pitcher Yusuke Nomura (2-3) took the loss, giving up two runs in seven innings of work.

Giants 1, Swallows 1 (10)

At Akita's Komachi Stadium, Hayato Sakamoto laid down a suicide squeeze for a 1-0 lead in the seventh inning, but Ryosuke Morioka's two-out, bases-loaded single in the bottom half tied the game as Yomiuri played out a 10-inning tie against Tokyo Yakult.

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Matsunaka lifts Hawks past Marines

CHIBA — The Chiba Lotte Marines couldn't come through for their pitcher again.

Milestone moment: Hokkaido Nippon Ham's Atsunori Inaba acknowledges the fans at Sendai's Kleenex Stadium on Saturday after getting his 2,000th career hit on a first-inning RBI single. KYODO

Nobuhiko Matsunaka made sure the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks didn't make the same mistake.

Matsunaka hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the top of the ninth inning to help propel starter Tadashi Settsu and the Hawks to a 3-2 victory over the Marines on Saturday afternoon at QVC Marine Field.

"I was only thinking about how to bring the runner in," Matsunaka said. "I just did my best."

Tomoaki Egawa had a big day at the plate for the Hawks, finishing 3-for-4 with a triple. His third hit came against Lotte's Yasuhiko Yabuta to lead off the ninth. Yuya Hasegawa laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Egawa to second, and manager Koji Akiyama sent Matsunaka to the plate to pinch hit for Toru Hosokawa, who was 1-for-3.

Matsunaka worked the count full before lining a single into right to bring home Egawa.

Hasegawa finished 0-for-3 with an RBI and Nobuhiro Matsuda had a pair of hits and drove in a run.

Softbank's Yuchi Honda started the game at second base, but was removed due to neck pain in the third inning. Honda had played every inning of every game since facing the Orix Buffaloes on April 13, 2010, a span of 293 games.

Matsunaka's heroics helped Settsu (4-0) remain unbeaten. The Hawks starter gave up two runs on five hits and struck out five. Brian Falkenborg worked the ninth for the PL-leading ninth save.

There was no such luck for Marines starter Yoshihisa Naruse.

Naruse (1-2) threw seven innings of one-run ball, allowing seven hits, striking out six and walking one. He didn't factor into the decision. It was the third consecutive outing Naruse gave up just a single run over at least seven innings without earning a victory.

Yabuta (0-1) took the loss.

Tomoya Satozaki provided all the offense for the Marines, finishing 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs.

Ikuhiro Kiyota drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the second inning and stole second with Satozaki at the plate. The Marines catcher drove him in with single to right, making the score 1-0.

Katsuya Kakunaka doubled with two away in the fourth, and Kiyota singled to put runners on the corners. Satozaki delivered again, this time with an RBI single that put the Marines ahead 2-0.

"Because we haven't always been able to support Naruse, I'm glad we were able to score early," Satozaki said.

In the end, scoring early wasn't enough.

Egawa started the Hawks half of the seventh with a triple off Naruse and was driven in by Hasegawa later in the inning.

In the eighth, with reliever Naoya Masuda on the mound, reigning Pacific League MVP Seiichi Uchikawa singled to right. With Uchikawa on first, Matsuda hit a game-tying RBI double that left Naruse on the outside of the decision.

SENDAI — Atsunori Inaba recorded his 2,000th career hit with an RBI single in the first inning, but the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters were unable to celebrate it with a win in a 3-3, 10th-inning tie against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on Saturday.

The Eagles turned a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead in the fifth against Yuki Saito. The Fighters Ham tied the game in the sixth on Kensuke Tanaka's RBI infield single and a bases-loaded walk to Yoshio Itoi.

Inaba, the 39th player in Japanese baseball history to reach the 2,000-hit mark, went hitless in his other four at-bats.

"I'm glad I got my 2,000th in a clutch situation," Inaba said. "I wasn't too eager to get it done. It was our scoring chance. I just tried to drive in a run.

"I'm so happy that not only Fighters fans in the right-field stands but also Rakuten fans were giving me a round of applause."

Lions 8, Buffaloes 4

At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, Esteban German broke the game open with a three-run double in the seventh inning as Seibu beat Orix for its third straight victory.

Kazuhisa Ishii (2-0) allowed one run and four hits in seven innings. Yuki Nishi (2-2) took the loss.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

Dragons 3, BayStars 1

At Nagoya Dome, Soma Yamauchi threw one-run ball over 7? innings and Tony Blanco hit a solo homer as Chunichi held off Yokohama.

Naomichi Donoue and Ryosuke Hirata had RBI singles in the second and third, respectively, for the Dragons and Blanco added a leadoff blast in the fourth.

Alex Ramirez hit a pitch-hit RBI double in the eighth for the BayStars.

Swallows 6, Carp 4

At Hiroshima's Mazda Stadium, Wladimir Balentien overturned a 4-3 deficit into a 6-4 lead with a three-run drive off Kam Mickolio (1-1) in the ninth inning, lifting Tokyo Yakult past Hiroshima to extend its unbeaten streak to seven games.

Third-year right-hander Ryo Hirai (1-0) won in relief for first-place Yakult. Hiroshima has lost three straight and six of its last seven.

Giants 7, Tigers 2

At Tokyo Dome, Toshiya Sugiuchi (3-1) tossed seven innings of two-run ball, Hayato Sakamoto went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, and Yomiuri routed Hanshin in the opener of a three-game series homestand.

The Giants overturned a 1-0 deficit to take a 3-1 lead on a wild pitch and a two-run throwing error by Atsushi Nomi (2-2) in the first. Yoshinobu Takahashi hit a two-run single and Hisayoshi Chono a leadoff drive in the third and fourth innings.

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Marines add pitcher Greisinger

CHIBA — The Chiba Lotte Marines said Monday they have acquired right-hander Seth Greisinger, who has won 47 games over five seasons in Japan.

The two sides have agreed to a one-year, $400,000 contract.

Greisinger, now 36, won at least 13 games in his first three years in Japan, leading the Central League with 16 wins in 2007 for the Yakult Swallows and 17 wins in 2008 for the Yomiuri Giants.

But he was 1-7 in just 15 appearances over the last two seasons, plagued by elbow problems.

"He's had a good career in Japan, and we hope he'll fill one of our rotation spots," said senior Lotte official Nobuhira Hayashi.

Greisinger has a record of 47-30 with a 3.25 ERA in Japan.

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Marines reach deal with Whitesell

Chiba — The Chiba Lotte Marines signed former Yakult Swallows infielder Josh Whitesell to a one-year contract worth $300,000 on Wednesday.

The Marines hit just 46 home runs this year — the worst total among the 12 teams in Japanese baseball.

"We're expecting him to hit 30 home runs for us," Lotte team president Iekuni Nakamura said. "We hope he can spark our offense."

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Marines let Karakawa's good work go to waste

CHIBA — The Chiba Lotte Marines wasted another quality start from Yuki Karakawa as the Japan Series champions were held to a 12-inning, 2-2 tie by the Yokohama BayStars on Saturday.

Brave face: Orix's Yusuke Kajimoto reacts after missing a sacrifice bunt attempt during the Buffaloes' 3-2 loss to the Carp on Saturday. KYODO PHOTO

Karakawa, who had won his last four starts, limited the Central League's last-place team to two earned runs over seven innings before passing on the baton to Carlos Rosa after he rang up his pitch count to 114.

Karakawa was in cruise control until the sixth, when he gave up a game-tying, two-run shot to Yokohama captain Shuichi Murata who homered for the second straight day.

The Marines managed to halt their skid at four games but without four starters from Opening Day — cleanup man Kim Kyung Tae, Shoichi Omatsu, Saburo Omura and Takashi Ogino — they failed to punish the worst pitching staff in the CL despite their 11 hits.

As if to highlight Lotte's afternoon, Japan Series MVP Toshiaki Imae hit into a game-ending double play with a hard-hit shot that came off the mound and straight into second baseman Kazuya Fujita's glove.

"We should have won today, no buts," Lotte manager Norifumi Nishimura said after the 3-hour, 43-minute stalemate, his team's second tie of the season and the BayStars' first. "We had plenty of chances to put the game away but we didn't.

"We've got to start scoring some runs because our pitchers are going out there and doing their jobs."

Karakawa wasn't as sharp as he was a week ago, when he threw a four-hit shutout against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to the delight of the QVC Marine Field crowd.

The fourth-year right-hander actually saw his ERA rise to a still miniscule 1.36, and admits he should have attacked the Yokohama lineup more.

In the sixth with his team up by two thanks to RBI singles in the fourth and fifth by Ikuhiro Kiyota and Kazuya Fukuura, Karakawa allowed Termell Sledge to reach on a soft single to left with two outs.

Murata — whose two-run homer the night before off Lotte ace Yoshihisa Naruse snapped the BayStars' losing streak at six — made him pay, taking Karakawa deep to opposite field on a 2-0 count for the pair of runs that forced extra innings.

"I was thinking too much," Karakawa said. "I should have been more aggressive; I let them take the initiative today."

Hawks 7, Tigers 0

At Yahoo Dome, Toshiya Sugiuchi (2-2) pitched his second straight shutout, striking out eight and holding Hanshin to just four hits.

The Hawks won their third in a row to become the first team in either league to reach 20 victories.

Carp 3, Buffaloes 2

At Kyocera Dome, Hiroshima stopped a three-game slide with Yoshiyuki Ishihara's go-ahead solo homer off Orix closer Mamoru Kishida.

Lions 13, Dragons 4

At Seibu Dome, Hiroyuki Nakajima and Takeya Nakamura each hit two home runs to beat Chunichi for the second straight day.

Giants 4, Fighters 3

At Sapporo Dome, Yomiuri southpaw Tetsuya Utsumi improved to a CL-best 5-1 after pitching three-run ball over six innings.

Eagles 3, Swallows 2

At Kleenex Stadium, Tohoku Rakuten won back-to-back games for the first time this month with Shoji Ohiro's walkoff RBI double off Yakult reliever Takehiko Oshimoto.

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Marines rally but fall short

CHIBA — In a scene straight out of last year's Japan Series, the Chiba Lotte Marines were mounting a late-inning rally against the Chunichi Dragons.

Fall classic revisited: Dragons southpaw Yudai Kawai competes against the Marines, Chunichi's 2010 Japan Series foe, on Tuesday in the series opener at QVC Marine Stadium. KYODO

Chunichi has put that heartbreak behind them. This time, they made sure the Marines came up short.

Kei Nomoto hit a tie-breaking two-run single in a four-run eighth inning and closer Hitoki Iwase avoided a meltdown in the ninth as the Dragons opened the interleague schedule with a 6-5 win over the Marines on Tuesday night at QVC Marine Field.

Facing reliever Carlos Rosa with the bases loaded in the eighth, Nomoto hit a single down the first-base line that drove in two runs and gave the Dragons a 5-3 lead.

Pinch hitter Takehiro Donoue followed with a run-scoring single to extend the lead later in the inning.

Unlike in the final game of last season's Japan Series, there was no late-game magic for the Marines this time.

But that wasn't for lack of trying.

Chunichi reliever Takuya Asao shut Lotte down in the eighth, but Iwase began the ninth by giving up a double to Kazuya Fukuura.

The next batter, Kei Hosoya, was retired, but Yoshifumi Okada was hit with a pitch putting runners on first and second. Shota Ishimine hit a long fly ball for out two, but Tadahito Iguchi followed him with an RBI single.

Marines cleanup hitter Kim Tae Kyun then hit a run-scoring single to make the score 6-4 as Iguchi advanced all the way to third.

Iwase composed himself with the tying run at third and retired Toshiaki Imae to end the game.

Despite allowing two runs, Iwase earned the save, his seventh of the season. Iwase now has 283 career saves, trailing all-time leader Shingo Takatsu by three.

Masafumi Hirai earned the win in relief. Tatsuya Uchi, who allowed all four runs in the eighth, took the loss.

Hirokazu Ibata drove in a pair of runs for Chunichi, finishing 2-for-4. Masahiko Morino, who started the eighth-inning rally with a game-tying sacrifice fly, was 1-for-3 while Masahiro Araki led all batters with three hits.

Hosoya had a big day for the Marines in his season debut, hitting a single in his first at-bat and his first career home run the next time up.

"I'm glad I could hit my first homer," said Hosoya, who finished 2-for-3. "I had a good image from my previous at-bat."

SENDAI — Kenji Yano and Hidetoshi Tsuburaya delivered two-out RBI singles in the top of the ninth inning as the Yomiuri Giants beat the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 4-3 on Tuesday.

Lions 4, BayStars 1

At Omiya Stadium, Hideaki Wakui pitched a complete game to earn his first win since the season opener on April 12.

Swallows 2, Fighters 0

At Sapporo Dome, Shohei Tateyama (3-1) threw eight shutout innings for Tokyo Yakult in a win over Hokkaido Nippon Ham.

Hawks 4, Carp 4 (11)

At Fukuoka's Yahoo Dome, Seiichi Uchikawa singled in the tying run in the eighth inning as Softbank came back to play out an 11-inning tie with Hiroshima.

Tigers 5, Buffaloes 4

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Watanabe, Okada lead Marines past Lions

CHIBA — Shunsuke Watanabe threw one-run ball over seven sharp innings, Yoshifumi Okada had a bases-clearing triple and the Chiba Lotte Marines swept the Seibu Lions in three games, closing the door in a 7-1 victory on Thursday.

Watanabe (1-0) earned his first win of the season in his second start, yielding just two hits — including a solo homer by Hiroyuki Nakajima in the fourth — and walked none at QVC Marine Field.

The Lions lost their fourth in a row.

Japan Series MVP Toshiaki Imae, batting ninth, assisted with an RBI double in a three-run third and Okada hit a ball into the pocket in left-center with one out and the bases loaded in the seventh for a 6-1 lead. Tadahito Iguchi added a run-scoring single in the same frame.

The Marines got another dazzling performance from their starting rotation, following shutouts by ace Yoshihisa Naruse and Yuki Karakawa on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Fighters 4, Buffaloes 0

At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, Masaru Takeda went seven shutout innings, Sho Nakata hit a solo drive and Hokkaido Nippon Ham won its third straight on the road, blanking Orix

Takeda (2-0) allowed two hits — both singles — and struck out six with no walks, retiring the first 18 batters he faced. Alfredo Figaro (0-2) lost his second start in a row for the Buffaloes, who dropped their third straight.

Hwks 8, Eagles 3

At Fukuoka's Yahoo Dome, Seiichi Uchikawa went 3-for-3 with four RBIs and Nobuhiko Matsunaka, Jose Ortiz and Nobuhiro Matsuda all hit solo homers as Fukuoka Softbank pounded Tohoku Rakuten.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

Carp 11, BayStars 8

At Yokohama Stadium, Hiroshima outfielder Yoshihiro Maru went 4-for-5 with a game-tying solo homer and a go-ahead double, powering Hiroshima to its fifth win in a row by beating Yokohama.

Maru's blast to right tied it at 3-3 in the fourth and he gave his team a 4-3 lead with his double to right-center off Naoyuki Shimizu (0-1) in the sixth before adding an RBI single in the seventh, leaving him a triple shy of the cycle.

Bryan Bullington (2-0) got the win and Dennis Sarfate picked up his fifth save.

Giants 3, Tigers 1

At Koshien Stadium, harrd-throwing Yomiuri rookie Hirokazu Sawamura lived up to the hype despite some control issues, limiting the damage to one run on six hits in seven innings to earn his first win in pro baseball as Yomiuri downed Hanshin.

Sawamura (1-0) struck out six and walked two, mixing in a variety of offspeed stuff with his fastball that clocked in the low 150-kph range. Alex Ramirez had a two-run single for a 2-0 lead against Minoru Iwata (0-2) in the sixth and Hisayoshi Chono added a run-scoring double in the eighth.

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Marines' Naruse tosses four-hit shutout

CHIBA — Yoshihisa Naruse pitched his first shutout of the season for his first win, four-hitting the Seibu Lions to lead the Japan Series champion Chiba Lotte Marines to a 2-0 victory Tuesday.

Naruse, who struck out six, needed 137 pitches to tame the Lions in beating their ace Hideaki Wakui for his second career shutout against Seibu, which dropped its fifth in a row at QVC Marine Field dating back to last July.

The Lions never reached third base against Naruse, who led the team with 13 wins last season.

"I had a good time out on the mound today. I just regret the one walk I had," Naruse said.

Wakui allowed both runs on 10 hits in seven innings of work as he suffered his first defeat.

"I got beat, hands down," said Wakui, who shares the same alma mater as Naruse at Yokohama High School. "Compared to my last time out, I made a lot of mistakes today."

Complementing Naruse's gem was Takashi Ogino, who went 3-for-4 with an RBI in the seventh inning to hit safely in his seventh straight game. He also scored the Marines' first run in the sixth, coming home on Tadahito Iguchi's RBI single to right.

Eagles 2, Hawks 1

At Yahoo Dome, former major leaguer Kazuo Matsui drove in the game-winning run with a double in the top of the 10th as Tohoku Rakuten edged Fukuoka Softbank.

Eagles starter Hisashi Iwakuma moved to 2-0 after striking out 10 in nine innings. He allowed one earned run on just five hits.

Fighters 8, Buffaloes 2

At Kobe's Hotto Motto Field, Yu Darvish rebounded from the worst start of his career to pitch eight strong innings in Hokkaido Nippon Ham's win against Orix.

Darvish, who allowed seven earned runs in seven-plus innings in his season debut against the Lions on April 12, struck out eight and gave up one earned run on four hits.
Darvish was backed by Yoshio Itoi's two-hit, three-RBI effort that included a two-run home run off Buffaloes starter Hiroshi Kisanuki in the third.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

Tigers 3, Giants 2 (10)

At Koshien Stadium, Hanshin pinch hitter Takahiro Arai had the first "sayonara" hit of his career as the Tigers edged Yomiuri.

Hanshin's Atsushi Nomi racked up 10 strikeouts in seven innings, giving up one earned run on four hits. The Giants have not won since beating the Swallows in their first two games of the season.

Carp 5, BayStars 3

At Yokohama Stadium, Sawamura Award winner Kenta Maeda picked up his first win, holding Yokohama to three earned runs over seven innings.

Maeda, who led the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts last season, fanned five but allowed a pair of home runs, a solo shot in the third inning to Shingo Takeyama and a two-run homer to Yuki Yoshimura in the fifth.

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