Yamaguchi blows it again ...

Eagles newcomer Ruiz shines vs. ’Stars

Yokohama BayStars late-inning man Shun Yamaguchi is supposed put fires out. Instead, he continues to get burned to a crisp.
Rakuten newcomer Randy Ruiz blasted a pinch-hit, two-run shot off Yamaguchi (1-6) in the ninth inning and the Eagles escaped with a 5-4 interleague win in a game in which starter Hisashi Iwakuma collected his 1,000th career strikeout.
The BayStars have to try something different with Yamaguchi blowing up games in the last inning, where all of his losses have come.
Ruiz, who was in his fourth game after being signed on May 25, helped the Eagles take sole possession the best record in interleague play with his first RBIs here.
Iwakuma, an 11th -year righty, wobbled through seven 12-hit innings. He didn’t compound things by walking a batter, and he fanned six.
Shinichiro Koyama (3-1) worked a perfect eighth for the win, and Tsuyoshi Kawagishi worked around a hit to hold down the ’Stars for his ninth save.

GIANTS 6, FIGHTERS 5
Yoshinobu Takahashi looks healthy and then some. The crowd favorite smacked a pair of homers and drove in five runs as the Giants topped stumbling Nippon Ham at Tokyo Dome.
Takahashi put the Giants in front with a three-run shot in the seventh and closer Marc Kroon reached 10 saves for the sixth straight season with a scoreless ninth.
Nippon Ham’s Makoto Kaneko laid down a sacrifice bunt sixth inning to become the 12th player to reach 250 for a career.

DRAGONS 7, MARINES 6
Kazuhiro Wada went 4-for-4 with an RBI and Masahiko Morino’s RBI groundout in a three-run fifth put Chunichi on top, and the Dragons eventually held off Lotte at Nagoya Dome.
Seventh-year pro Hiroki Nakagawa hit the first homer of his career, a two-run shot in the fifth to make it 3-3, and Hirokazu Ibata collected his 1,500th hit with an RBI single in the second.
Hitoki Iwase inched closer to save No. 250, allowing two runs on a homer in the ninth before nothing his 15th save this season.

HAWKS 9, CARP 3
Tsuyoshi Wada (8-3) scattered six hits and two walks over eight innings, and Yuichi Honda went 5-for-6 as SoftBank cruised at the Zoom.
Wada became the winningest all-time pitcher in interleague play, earning his 17th.

BUFFALOES 9, TIGERS 4
Takeshi Hidaka went 3-for-5 with three RBIs as Orix used a pair of three-run innings to down Hanshin at Koshien Stadium.

LIONS 6, SWALLOWS 5
Toru Hosokawa’s two-run homer in the eighth inning turned out to be the difference as Seibu edged Yakult at Jingu Stadium and moved back into first place in the PL.