JAPAN – Lin Wei-zhu hit a two-run homer and Minoru Iwata tossed seven solid innings as the Hanshin Tigers blanked the Chunichi Dragons 4-0 Tuesday to claim their fifth straight victory.

Lin connected to the right stands at Koshien Stadium off Mitsuru Sato (1-3) to open the scoring in the fourth inning and Tomoaki Kanemoto doubled in two runs in the eighth for insurance for the Central League-leading ballclub.

Iwata (8-7) scattered five hits and walked two while striking out four during his 110-pitch outing, and Tomoyuki Kubota and Jeff Williams each threw a hitless inning in relief.

Giants 7, BayStars 3

At Tokyo Dome, Alex Ramirez drove home two runs and Shinnosuke Abe hit a three-run homer as Yomiuri erupted for six runs in the first inning to put the game out of reach for Yokohama.

Giants lefty Tetsuya Utsumi (9-7) gave up three runs on seven hits and three walks over five innings but four relievers combined to hold off the BayStars the rest of the way.

Carp 5, Swallows 1

At Hiroshima Stadium, Colby Lewis (12-5) yielded one run in seven innings to pick up his 12th win to tie the league’s season high while Kenta Kurihara went 2-for-3 with two RBIs to help Hiroshima hand Yakult its fifth consecutive loss.

Kurihara put the Carp on the scoreboard first in the fourth with an RBI single to left with one out and runners and first and third, extending his streak of games with an RBI hit to eight. Go Kida and pinch hitter Shigeru Morikasa added an RBI apiece to pace the home team.

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Tags: Japan