Records come in to play ...

Kaneko continues victory

Chihiro Kaneko has been as hot as this year’s sticky summer.
The hurler, who was the top Pacific League pitcher of July with five wins, picked up his fifth of August with 6.1 innings of work Tuesday in an 8-4 win over the host Saitama Seibu Lions in a regional game at Maebashi.
It was the first time in 32 years -- since Yutaro Imai -- that a pitcher from the club, then known as Hankyu, has won five games in back-to-back months. Kaneko (14-7) gave up five hits and walked two, while fanning nine.
The sixth-year righty extended his career-best win total to14 with help from three relievers.
Mamoru Kishida escaped a bases-loaded, potentially game-tying jam in the ninth, by fanning Jose Fernandez to end the game.

EAGLES 8, MARINES 2
Hisashi Iwakuma (9-8) worked six shutout innings, allowing four hits and two walks, to earn his 100th win as Rakuten topped host Lotte.
Ryo Hijirizawa was a homer shy of the cycle and had three RBIs to back Iwakuma, who reached the milestone in 205 games.

HAWKS 2, FIGHTERS 0
D. J. Houlton (8-6) went 5.1 and the SoftBank bullpen shut down Nippon Ham the rest of the way as the Hawks won at Sapporo Dome.

CENTRAL LEAGUE
SWALLOWS 12, GIANTS 8
Ryuji Aikawa and Shingo Kawabata each had three hits and three RBIs to lead an 18-hit attack that gave Yakult a 12-2 lead, and it held off Yomiuri at Kanazawa.
The Swallows beat the Giants for the first straight time, the first time they’ve done that since 2003.
Kyohei Muranaka (10-7) allowed seven runs over 6.2 innings (and 146 pitches) and earned double digits in wins for the first time in his four-plus-year career.

TIGERS 13, BAYSTARS 1
Takashi Toritani led a 22-hit night at Koshien Stadium, collecting his club record 43rd hit this month as the Tigers clubbed Yokohama.
It was the third time in a week the Tigers have had at least 20 hits.
Slugger Craig Brazell drilled his 39 th homer, putting him three behind CL leader Alex Ramirez of Yomiuri.

DRAGONS 9, CARP 3
Chen Wei-yin (11-9) gave up two early runs but found a groove, as did Chunichi’s offense, in a romp over Hiroshima at Nagoya Dome.
Masahiro Araki’s bases-clearing triple in the fourth gave Chunichi the lead, and Chen made it stand up by tossing two-run ball over seven innings.
Second-year import Tony Blanco had his first four-hit game in Japan, while Hiroshima rookie skipper Kenjiro Nomura got the boot for the first time.