YOKOHAMA – Kazuki Kamizato went 4-for-5 with a pair of runs and an RBI to lead the Yokohama BayStars to a 6-2 victory over the Tokyo Yakult Swallows on Tuesday.
Rookie Taiga Kamichatani got his sixth win of the season with a solid seven-inning start. He held the Swallows to two runs, three hits and a walk, while striking out a pair.
Neftali Soto drove in the go-ahead run, scoring Kamizato with a single to put the BayStars up 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth at a steamy Yokohama Stadium.
Catcher Hikaru Ito added a run and an RBI in a 3-for-4 outing for second-place Yokohama, which kept up its pursuit of the Central League-leading Yomiuri Giants.
Yakult starter David Buchanan (1-6) took the loss after giving up four runs. The right-hander fanned one while allowing nine hits and a pair of walks in five innings.
The BayStars had taken a 2-0 lead into the third following RBIs from Keita Sano and Kamizato, respectively, in the first and second innings.
The visitors tied it up in the top of the fourth when Tetsuto Yamada slugged a two-run homer to left off Kamichatani (6-3). The blast, which also scored Norichika Aoki, was Yamada’s 23rd homer of the season.
Yokohama extended the lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the eighth when first baseman Munetaka Murakami dropped a routine fly ball from Yamato Maeda, allowing Toshiro Miyazaki to score from third.
Carp 8, Giants 5
At Tokyo Dome, Yomiuri withstood a four-run rally from Hiroshima in the eighth to hold on for a home victory.
Shun Yamaguchi (11-2) fanned 11 over 7-1/3 innings for the win.
Tigers 7, Dragons 6
At Koshien Stadium, new arrival Yangervis Solarte belted a pair of two-run homers, including a sayonara shot in the bottom of the ninth that gave Hanshin a triumph over Chunichi.
PACIFIC LEAGUE
Lions 5, Hawks 2
At Tokorozawa’s MetLife Dome, Seibu overcame Fukuoka SoftBank, doing most of its damage in a three-run fourth inning.
Marines 4, Buffaloes 1
At Chiba’s Zozo Marine Stadium, Daiki Iwashita (5-3) picked up the win as Chiba Lotte defeated Orix.
Eagles 2, Fighters 0
At Sapporo Dome, Ko Shimozuru smacked a two-run homer in the top of the second to lead Tohoku Rakuten past Hokkaido Nippon Ham.
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Source : Baseball – The Japan Times