Daiei center fielder Hiroshi Shibahara smacked a go-ahead solo homer off Lions hurler Kiyoshi Toyoda in the top of the eighth as the Hawks came from behind to beat the Seibu Lions at the Seibu Dome on Saturday.
The win gave the Pacific League-leading Hawks a 3 1/2- game lead over the second-place Lions and a “magic number” of 15. Both teams have 18 games left to play.
| Central League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Yomiuri | 72 | 48 | 0 | .600 | - |
| Chunichi | 60 | 55 | 0 | .522 | 9.5 |
| Yokohama | 58 | 56 | 1 | .509 | 11.0 |
| Yakult | 51 | 57 | 1 | .472 | 15.0 |
| Hiroshima | 53 | 63 | 1 | .457 | 17.0 |
| Hanshin | 51 | 66 | 1 | .436 | 19.5 |
| Pacific League | |||||
| Won | Lost | Tied | Pct. | GB | |
| Daiei | 64 | 51 | 2 | .557 | - |
| Seibu | 59 | 53 | 5 | .527 | 3.5 |
| Nippon Ham | 60 | 56 | 1 | .517 | 4.5 |
| Orix | 53 | 58 | 3 | .477 | 9.0 |
| Lotte | 52 | 58 | 5 | .473 | 9.5 |
| Kintetsu | 52 | 64 | 2 | .448 | 12.5 |
With the Lions leading 2-1 in the eighth, pinch-hitter Koji Bonishi drilled a game-tying solo homer with one out off Toyoda.
One out later Shibahara belted his fifth homer of the season to give Daiei its seventh straight victory, its longest win streak this season.
Toyoda (5-8) was tagged with the loss, allowing all three runs on five hits over eight innings as the Lions extended their winless streak to seven games.
Marines 5, Buffaloes 3
Koichi Hori nailed a go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the seventh and Saburo Omura singled home an insurance run in the eighth as Lotte downed Kintetsu at Chiba Marine Stadium.
BlueWave 2, Fighters 1
All-Star pitcher Nobuyuki Ebisu tossed a three-hitter while fanning eight as Orix snapped its losing streak at six with a victory over Nippon Ham at Kobe.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
Giants 4, Swallows 0
CL home run leader Hideki Matsui drilled his 40th homer of the season -- a two-run blast in the sixth -- and drove home all four runs as Yomiuri blanked Yakult at the Tokyo Dome, shaving a game off their “magic number” to make it nine.
Masaki Saito combined with two relievers on a three-hit shutout and won his second game. He allowed three hits and struck out five over eight innings.
Dragons 2, Tigers 1
Melvin Bunch fanned nine over eight innings and allowed one run for his 11th win as Chunichi beat Hanshin at Koshien Stadium.
BayStars 4, Carp 3
Hitoshi Nakane drove home the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly to lift Yokohama over Hiroshima at Yokohama Stadium.
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