Shortstop Seiya Kinami hit 3-for-3 and drove in five runs to lead the Hanshin Tigers to a 7-2 win over the DeNA BayStars as the Central League's top two sides faced off Tuesday.
First-place Hanshin moved two games clear of DeNA at Kurashiki Muscat Stadium, where starter Koyo Aoyagi (3-3) held the BayStars to two runs on six hits and no walks over seven innings in his first Nippon Professional Baseball outing since May 19.
Kinami got the Tigers on the board first with his three-RBI double in the bottom of the third. With two out and the bases loaded, he sent a 2-2 changeup from Shotaro Kasahara (0-2) back to the warning track behind center field.
Toshiro Miyazaki cut the deficit to 3-2 the following inning with his two-run double before Kinami drove in two more runs in the fifth, this time singling to right off Taiga Kamichatani.
In other CL action, the Yomiuri Giants blanked the Hiroshima Carp 4-0 and the Chunichi Dragons saw off the Yakult Swallows 5-2, with Takaya Ishikawa homering twice.
In the Pacific League, Leandro Cedeno drove in all four runs for the first-place Orix Buffaloes in their 4-3 win over the second-place Lotte Marines, while the Rakuten Eagles beat the Nippon Ham Fighters 3-2 on the back of Yuya Ogo's two-run home run.
