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Blanco batters Giants with 2 HRs

Going solo is a great way to make a name, but it’s difficult to win a game.
The Yomiuri Giants belted three longballs, but Tony Blanco gave the Chunichi Dragons a three-run shot at the perfect timie in a 7-4 win at Tokyo Dome on Saturday as NPB returned to league play.
Blanco ripped a pitch from Yomiuri closer Marc Kroon (1-1) deep the opposite way after the righty got himself into trouble with two outs and the bases empty.
A double to Masahiko Morino and a walk to Kazuhiro Wada brought up Blanco, who struck out his first two times before doubling in the sixth and launching his 15 th homer -- a solo shot -- in the eighth inning.
He got all of a pitch down and away from Kroon and the Big Egg had no chance to hold it.
The Dragons sent closer Hitoki Iwase to the mound to nail it down, but the Giants came out swinging. Ryota Wakiya singled to kick it off and Michihiro Ogasawara also got a base knock to bring up Alex Ramirez.
The cleanup man ripped a shot down the right-field line and Morino, swung over first base to start the inning, made the grab and turned it into a double play.
Morino collected the final groundball for the final out and a split in the first two of a three-game set.
Blanco’s longballs erased two solo shots by Shinnosuke Abe, who tied for the lead in the Central League with 20 longballs, and Ramirez, who went deep with the bases empty in the sixth inning.

CARP 5, SWALLOWS 1
Soon-to-be all-star Kenta Maeda (9-2) became the CL’s first nine-game winner, allowing five hits over seven innings as Hiroshima won its season-best fourth straight by knocking around Yakult at the Zoom.
Shigenobu Shima, Justin Huber and Masato Akamatsu each homered in a four-run sixth in support of Maeda, who hit a batter and fanned five.

TIGERS 7, BAYSTARS 3
Craig Brazell ripped his 20 th homer, and Takahiro Arai also went deep as visiting Hanshin smacked around Yokohama.

PACIFIC LEAGUE
EAGLES 3, MARINES 1
Hisashi Iwakuma won his ninth straight decision at Chiba Marine Stadium, shutting down Lotte on three hits over seven innings as Rakuten got past the Marines.
Motohiro Shima had two hits and two RBIs, and Yosuke Takasu homered to back Iwakuma (5-4).

FIGHTERS 3, BUFFALOES 1
Yu Darvish (6-4) fanned seven, while allowing seven hits and a walk over eight innings, and Tomohiro Nikoa drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the fourth as Nippon Ham beat Orix at Kyocera Dome.

LIONS 5, HAWKS 1
Kazuyuki Hoashi (7-5) went 6.2 innings and Toru Hosokawa belted a three-run homer as Seibu topped SoftBank at Seibu Dome.