Lions' rookie Kishi KO's Fighters

With Seibu's offense struggling to score, rookie Takayuki Kishi's second four-hit shutout of the season was a welcome sight on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old right-hander struck out five and walked none as the Lions beat the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 2-0 at Goodwill Dome and moved one game over .500.

"That was great pitching," Lions manager Tsutomu Ito said. "It was probably his best game of the year.

"From the defensive side we could really relax tonight, but we're still struggling at the plate."

The Fighters, who fell into a tie for first place with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, were shut out for the 11th time this season. It was the fourth time they failed to score in a game started by Ryan Glynn (8-6), who went seven innings and suffered his third straight defeat.

Kazuhiro Wada doubled twice and scored the game's first run on a fourth-inning single by Takumi Kuriyama. Wada had doubled to lead off the second but was gunned down trying to score from third on a one-out grounder to shortstop Makoto Kaneko.

In the eighth inning, the Lions' Hiroyuki Nakajima finally had something to celebrating on his 25th birthday after striking out three times. His two-out double plated an insurance run and sealed the Fighters' fate for the night.

Glynn struck out 10 and walked one but could not match Kishi (7-5).

"All his different pitches worked tonight and was able to challenge batters with all of them," Ito said. "Kishi is the kind of pitcher who starts slowly in his games, but with a quality opposing pitcher, he refused to be beaten."

In other Pacific League games:

HAWKS 5, BUFFALOES 3: Brian Buchanan's three-run double capped a four-run first inning and SoftBank held off Orix at Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome to pull into a tie for first place.

Tsuyoshi Wada (10-6) allowed three runs, two earned, in 7-2/3 innings for the win. The lefty surrendered seven hits but struck out nine, while walking two.

EAGLES 11, MARINES 7: Rick Short went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and Hisashi Iwakuma (2-2) allowed three runs in six innings for the win as Tohoku Rakuten ran over host Chiba Lotte.

Marines starter Masato Yoshii (1-8) allowed six runs in three-plus innings.

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Tigers hold off Swallows

Akihiro Yano promised his pitcher some runs and was as good as his word.

The Tigers catcher went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and broke a sixth-inning tie as Hanshin held off the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 4-3 at Koshien Stadium on Monday.

"I kept telling the pitcher [starter Naohisa Sugiyama], 'Just wait, we'll score, just just wait,' and he waited," said Yano, whose RBI single put the Tigers in front for good after the Swallows tied it in the top of the fifth.

Sugiyama hung on until the fifth and got no decision, but Hanshin's elite bullpen trio of Tomoyuki Kubota (3-2), Jeff Williams and Kyuji Fujikawa allowed just two hits over the final four innings.

"With them at the end, we have no worries," Yano said. "It is a shame Sugiyama didn't get the win, but as a team, it was a good game."

In other Central League games:

BAYSTARS 5, GIANTS 1: Kimiyasu Kudo beat his old team for the second straight time as host Yokohama defeated Yomiuri at Nagano Olympic Stadium, knocking the Giants out of first place.

The 44-year-old Kudo (4-5) allowed a run in 5-2/3 innings to win consecutive starts for the first time since beginning the season 2-0 for the Giants a year ago.

Giants rookie Norihito Kaneto (7-6) continued his struggles on the mound. The lefty allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk in four innings in losing his third straight start.

DRAGONS 4, CARP 3, 10 innings: Pinch-hitter Ryota Arai singled in the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning as Chunichi defeated host Hiroshima and moved into first place ahead of Yomiuri.

Tyrone Woods opened the scoring in the second with a solo homer. In the bottom of the inning, the Carp took a 3-1 lead after a leadoff walk by Takahiro Arai-- Ryota's older brother--four singles and an error.

The Dragons' Hirokazu Ibata doubled and scored in both the fifth and the ninth innings, with No. 3 hitter Lee Byung Kyu driving him home each time.

[Full Article: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/sports/20070801TDY24005.htm]