Ben Sheets (1-5) lost his fifth straight start, allowing five runs, six hits and three homers in five-plus innings.
NPB
AP, Tokyo
Katsuhiko Miyaji hit a three-run homer in the second inning Thursday and Nobuhiko Matsunaka added a two-run blast in the third as the surging Softbank Hawks defeated the Hanshin Tigers 9-7 in interleague play.
Miyaji gave the Hawks an early 3-0 lead with a line drive off Hanshin starter Shinobu Fukuhara just over the fence in right field at Koshien Stadium. Matsunaka then widened the lead to 5-0 with his 22nd homer of the season.
Softbank catcher Kenji Jojima hit a two-run homer in the top of the eighth to give the Hawks a comfortable 9-5 lead. It was the 200th homer of Jojima's career.
There was a scary moment in the bottom of the ninth when Softbank reliever Koji Mise hit Tomoaki Kanemoto in the back of the head with a fastball. Kanemoto was slow in getting up and Mise was ejected from the game after both benches emptied.
Andy Sheets hit a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth and Hanshin scored another run on a wild pitch before Makoto Sato retired the side to nail down the win.
Giants 6, FIGHTERS 5
At Sapporo Dome, Takayuki Shimizu hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning to lift the Yomiuri Giants to a 6-5 win over the Nippon Ham Fighters.
Shimizu, who drove in four runs, also had a solo homer in the fourth as the Giants won after tying the first two games of the three-game set.
Veteran left-hander Kimiyasu Kudo picked up the win despite giving up five runs on seven hits over 5-2/3 innings.
Marines 6, Carp 1
At Chiba Marine Stadium, rookie Yasutomo Kubo gave up one run on eight hits over the distance as the Pacific League-leading Chiba Lotte Marines downed the Hiroshima Carp 6-1.
Veteran infielder Makoto Kosaka drove in two runs in the fourth on an infield single when the Marines scored four times to take a 4-0 lead.
Lotte won its 40th game -- the best in either league -- and is a season-high 24 games above .500.
The New York Mets placed struggling South Korean reliever Koo Dae-sung on the 15-day disabled list with a bruised rotator cuff.
A 35-year-old rookie, Koo has a 5.65 ERA in 22 appearances. He has been the only left-hander in the bullpen most of the season.
Koo's rotator-cuff injury came on a headfirst slide into home plate against the New York Yankees on May 21.
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