The struggling Yomiuri Giants fell a further game back of the Central League-leading Hanshin Tigers on Saturday after a 1-0 loss to the Chunichi Dragons at Nagoya Dome.
The defending Japan Series champion Giants, owners of the highest payroll in Japanese baseball, fell 13-1/2 games back of the Tigers after Saturday's loss.
Despite being picked by many to win the Central League pennant this season, Yomiuri, who have lost five of their last six games, are only one game over .500.
The Dragons scored the only run of the game in the eighth inning when a Chunichi runner scored from third on Hirokazu Ibata's grounder to second.
Chunichi veteran Masahiro Yamamoto tossed a three-hitter and struck out six over eight innings to pick up the win.
Four home runs
In Hiroshima, veteran Atsuya Furuta belted four homers in four at-bats to lead the Yakult Swallows to a 14-4 victory over the Hiroshima Carp.
Furuta connected for solo homers in the second and fifth innings before adding a three-run blast in the sixth and a two-run shot in the eighth at Hiroshima Stadium to tie a Japan baseball record for most homers in one game.
Alex Ramirez, formerly of the Pittsburgh Pirates, connected for a grand slam in the fifth inning for his 21st homer of the season. With the victory, the Swallows improved to .500.
Yakult rookie Yuhei Takai picked up the win after holding the Carp to three runs on six hits over five innings.
At Yokohama Stadium, George Arias, formerly of the San Diego Padres, hit a solo homer in the fourth inning and Akihiro Yano added a two-run blast in the sixth to lift the league-leading Hanshin Tigers to a 5-3 win over the Yokohama BayStars.
With the victory, the Tigers improved to 49-21 and maintained an 11-1/2-game lead over the Chunichi Dragons in the standings.
Pacific league
Norihiro Nakamura connected for a three-run homer as the Kintetsu Buffaloes scored five runs in the top of the first inning on their way to a 7-6 win over the Nippon Ham Fighters at Tokyo Dome.
In Chiba, Koichi Hori hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning at Chiba Marine Stadium to power the Lotte Marines to 16-7 victory over the Orix BlueWave.
Nate Minchey, formerly of the Colorado Rockies, went five innings while giving up four runs on 11 hits for the win.
At Fukuoka Dome, Noriyoshi Omichi connected for a three-run homer and Nobuhiko Matsunaka added a two-run blast as the front-running Daiei Hawks scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning on their way to a 13-1 victory over the Seibu Lions.
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