Firing off ...

Dragons sweep Swallows, on verge of 1st repeat CL titles

The Chunichi Dragons have fought fire with pitching firepower.

Kazuki Yoshimi fired a shutout, and Tony Blanco and Kazuhiro Wada doubled in runs to lead Chunichi to a 2-0 win over the Yakult Swallows at Nagoya Dome on Thursday, pushing the Dragons to the verge of the club's first back-to-back Central League titles. Their magic number is two, and a win or a tie Friday, along with a loss or a tie by Yakult, would wrap up the title.

Yoshimi (17-3) moved into a tie for wins atop the CL, going the distance in a three-hitter for his third shutout of the season. His career-high 17 wins are the most by a Dragon since Kenshin Kawakami won that many in 2006, and the righty lowered his CL-best ERA to 1.67.

Outgoing skipper Hiromitsu Ochiai has done nothing but win since taking over in 2004, and this would be his most remarkable job yet. He has guided the team to four league titles and the franchise's second Japan Series championship -- first in 54 years -- in 2007.

The Dragons, who swept the Swallows in a four-game showdown of the CL’s top two teams, have battled back from as many as 10 games out of first place and the sweep moved them a season-best 19 games over .500.

The Swallows are now just 3.5 games ahead of the third-place Yomiuri Giants, who were idle.

TIGERS 10, BAYSTARS 0

Takahiro Arai went 4-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs, and Tatsuya Kojima (1-1) went 5.1 shutout innings, allowing three hits and two walks with six Ks in his first start of the season as Hanshin beat up on host Yokohama.

Keiichi Hirano and Kohei Shibata each had three hits to back Kojima, who hadn’t won since April 15, 2007.

The Tigers’ Matt Murton went 0-for-5, falling out of the CL battling title lead, a point behind Yomiuri’s Hisayoshi Chono.

Meanwhile, the Tigers, who are 3.5 games back of third-place Yomiuri, announced they would sack third-year skipper Akinobu Mayumi if the club doesn’t make the CL Climax Series playoffs.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

HAWKS 6, FIGHTERS 0

Munenori Kawasaki had four hits and an RBI, and Nobuhiro Matsuda connected for his 25th homer as visiting SoftBank extended its club record with its 29th shutout this season, blanking host Nippon Ham for its ninth-straight win.

Tsuyoshi Wada (16-5) worked seven scoreless innings as the Hawks moved 43 games over .500 for the first time since 2005, when they ended the season at 44 games over.

BUFFALOES 3, MARINES 0

Yuki Nishi (10-7) tossed 7.2 shutout innings, and Yusuke Kajimoto broke a scoreless tie in the fourth with an RBI single as host Orix blanked Lotte to break a five-game skid.

The third-place Buffaloes moved 1.5 games ahead of fourth-place Seibu, which was idle.