The Yakult Swallows completed a four-game sweep of the Chunichi Dragons with a 6-3 triumph at Nagoya Dome on Friday to cut their magic number to clinching the Central League pennant to three.
Yakult slugger Roberto Petagine belted a three-run homer in the fifth inning to regain the lead in the CL home run derby with his 37th clout of the season.
Kevin Hodges (5-2) gave up 10 hits and five walks over 71/3 innings and Shingo Takatsu fanned two in the ninth for his 36th save as Yakult won its fourth in a row.
BayStars 1, Carp 0
Three Hiroshima pitchers combined on a one-hitter but the hit was a solo homer by Hitoshi Nakane as Yokohama the Carp at Yokohama Stadium for their sixth win in eight games.
Nakane’s homer came off Masayuki Hasegawa (8-6) in the second inning as Yokohama improved to 17-7 with one tie against Hiroshima this season.
Yokohama starter Satoru Komiyama (11-8) went the distance on 96 pitches, holding the Carp scoreless despite nine hits and a walk with the help of four double plays behind him.
One of the double plays came off the bat of Tomoaki Kanemoto to snap his Japanese baseball record of 1,002 plate appearances without hitting into a double play. He last hit into a double play May 12 last season.
Makihara to quit
Veteran Yomiuri Giants pitcher Hiromi Makihara said Friday he will retire at the end of the season after 19 years with the Central League club.
Makihara, 38, joined Yomiuri in 1982 out of Obu High School in Aichi Prefecture as a first-round draft pick and was voted the Most Valuable Player of the Japan Series when the Giants won the championship in 1994.
During his 20 years as a professional, Makihara has notched 159 wins against 128 losses with 56 saves and a 3.19 ERA.
World Cup squad
Yomiuri Giants outfielder Yoshinobu Takahashi and Daiei Hawks infielder Tadahito Iguchi were among 14 professional players named to Japan’s national team Friday for the upcoming World Cup.
Yomiuri catcher Shinnosuke Abe and Yakult Swallow left-hander Shugo Fujii are also on the squad for the Nov. 6-18 tournament in Taiwan.
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