Chunichi hammers Hanshin, reclaims 1st

This time, walking Tyrone Woods did not pay.

Masahiko Morino and Hidenori Kuramoto each hit a two-run first inning single following an intentional walk to Woods, and the Chunichi Dragons cruised to an 8-1 victory over the Hanshin Tigers on Friday at Nagoya Dome.

The win lifted the Dragons out of second place past the Yomiuri Giants on winning percentage points. The third-place Tigers remained 2-1/2 games off the pace.

A single by leadoff man Hirokazu Ibata and a no-out double by Masahiro Araki set the table for Woods, who was walked intentionally for the 17th time this season to load the bases with one out.

Morino followed with a one-out single, and Kuramoto drove in two with two outs off veteran southpaw Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi (8-8), who allowed seven runs in 4-1/3 innings. It was the shortest start of the season for the 39-year-old--who has lost four straight--since he lasted just three innings against the Giants on May 9.

Kenta Asakura (10-6) allowed a run in 6-2/3 innings to win his third straight start.

The Dragons' Kazuyoshi Tatsunami became the 32nd player to reach the 1,000 career RBI plateau, when he plated a run with a fifth-inning pinch-hit single.

Woods, who leads the league with 31 home runs, walked twice to raise his career-high season total to 92. His 17 intentional walks equaled his career total from four seasons prior leading up to 2007.

In other Central League games:

CARP 8, GIANTS 7: Yoshinori Ogata's two-out pinch-hit solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted host Hiroshima past Yomiuri as the Carp overcame a four-run fourth-inning deficit.

Giants starter Jeremy Powell did not allow a hit until the fourth inning, but things fell apart in the bottom of the seventh after he loaded the bases on a pair of one-out singles and a hit batsman. Powell came out of the game, and Shigenobu Shima delivered a two-run pinch-hit double off reliever Kentaro Nishimura.

Nishimura, who was appearning in his sixth game in seven days, didn't retire any of the four batters he faced. The Carp took a 6-5 lead in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Tomonori Maeda.

The Carp veteran went 0-for-3 to remain 11 hits away from 2,000 in his career.

SWALLOWS 3, BAYSTARS 2, 11 innings: Aaron Guiel's two-out sayonara double lifted Tokyo Yakult past Yokohama at Jingu Stadium. Alex Ramirez, who had two doubles in the game already, was walked intentionally ahead of Guiel, who ended it.

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Pacific League

LIONS 6, FIGHTERS 5: Toru Hosokawa tied it with a one-out two-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning and Takumi Kuriyama plated him with the go-ahead run as Seibu came from behind to beat Hokkaido Nippon Ham at Goodwill Dome.

The win lifted the fourth-place Lions to within 9-1/2 games of the first-place Fighters, who were coming off back-to-back 1-0 wins over the Orix Buffaloes.

The Lions returned home after being swept in three games by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Fukuoka during the week.

BUFFALOES 4, EAGLES 3, 10 innings: Takaeshi Hidaka tied it 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth with a two-out RBI double and Greg LaRocca won it with a two-run home run in the bottom of the 10th as Orix came from behind twice to beat Tohoku Rakuten at Kyocera Dome Osaka.

It was the Eagles' second straight extra inning loss after they lost to Chiba Lotte on a 10th-inning throwing error on Thursday.

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Furuta will not catch next year

Tokyo Yakult Swallows manager Atsuya Furuta will most likely retire as a player after this season. The Swallows announced Friday they would not seek to sign the 42 year-old as a player for next season.

The Swallows are still hoping Furuta will manage in 2008, although he has suggested he might not wish to. The Swallows finished third last season, but started Friday's games in last place, 15-1/2 games out of first place.

Furuta, a two-time Central League MVP with nine Best IX awards, 10 Golden Gloves in his trophy case, has managed the Swallows since 2006. This year, he has batted six times with no hits. Furuta rejoined the Swallows' 28-man active roster following the All-Star break but was deactivated on Thursday.

[Full Article: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/sports/20070825TDY18003.htm]