Matsui, Abe pace Giants

Hideki Matsui blasted a game-tying two-run homer and Shinnosuke Abe had a pair of solo roundtrippers, leading the Yomiuri Giants to a 7-2 comeback victory over the Hanshin Tigers on Thursday at the Tokyo Dome.

The game looked like it was going to be a pitchers’ duel, as both starters Kei Igawa of Hanshin and Darrell May of Yomiuri each allowed only two hits through the first five innings.

The Tigers finally drew first blood, however, as Shinjiro Hiyama doubled home the first run of the night and Katsumi Hirosawa added a run on a single in the top of the sixth inning.

In the bottom of the frame Matsui cracked a titanic two-run shot off Igawa that hit one of the advertising boards above the right-field bleachers to give the momentum back to the Giants.

In the seventh, Abe broke a 2-2 tie with his first home run of the day in a four-run rally. He added another clout in the eighth to provide an insurance run.

May (8-4) yielded four hits and fanned seven over seven innings for the win.

Swallows 6, Carp 0

Futoshi Yamabe (1-1) scattered four hits and struck out five over eight innings to win his first decision of the season as Yakult blanked Hiroshima at Hiroshima Stadium.

With none out and runners at second and third in the second inning, the Swallows scored two runs on Akinori Iwamura’s RBI single and a Hiroshima error. Shinya Miyamoto doubled home two runs later in the frame to highlight a five-run uprising.

Takahiro Ikeyama nailed a solo homer, his fourth clout of the season, in the top of the ninth.

Ryota Igarashi pitched a perfect ninth to complete a four-hit shutout.

The Carp saw its winning streak end at four with the loss.