Yusuke Nomura allowed two runs over six innings on Tuesday as the Central League-leading Hiroshima Carp held off the second-place Hanshin Tigers 4-3.

Nomura (7-4) got a three-run first inning lead as he cruised through the early innings before 31,269 at Mazda Stadium.

“The Tigers beat me last time at Koshien (on July 17) and it felt good to get some payback,” Nomura said. “But this was all due to the position players’ support. I was the one who gave up the hits and walks that cost us.”

Tigers lefty Yuta Iwasada (4-8) coughed up a pair of early walks and Seiya Suzuki singled in a run with one out in the bottom of the first. With two outs, Brad Eldred, found the gap in left for a two-run double.

Nomura, who entered the game with a 3-7 career mark against Hanshin, pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth, and his batterymate, catcher Tsubasa Aizawa, singled home Ryuhei Matsuyama in the home half to make it 4-0.

But the Tigers got into the game in the fifth. Three straight, no-out singles set the table for Hiroki Uemoto’s sacrifice fly and an RBI single by Kosuke Fukudome. Nomura escaped further trouble and left after allowing six hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

Iwasada was pulled after four innings and fell to 0-9 in his career against Hiroshima. The Tigers bullpen proved up to the task, but Hanshin could only manage one run against the Carp relievers, when Uemoto scored on a solo inside-the-park home run.

Uemoto’s high fly to the wall in left was not caught, as Matsuyama crashed into the wall. The ball rolled untouched along the wall as the speedy Uemoto circled the bases for his sixth home run of the season.

The Tigers put the tying run on base with one out in the ninth. But as Uemoto struck out for the second out, Tsuyoshi Nishioka took off for second. He beat the throw from Aizawa, but was ruled out due to Uemoto inadvertently hindering the catcher.

It was a case of deja vu for the Tigers, whose final out in the 2014 Japan Series came when Nishioka was called for interference running down the first base line with the bases loaded. Instead of a game-tying RBI groundout, it became an inning-ending double play that handed the SoftBank Hawks a decisive 1-0 victory.

Giants 10, Swallows 3

At Kusanagi Stadium, Yoshiyuki Kamei went 5-for-5 with two homers and two doubles as Yomiuri reached season highs in runs and hits (18) in a win over Tokyo Yakult. Miles Mikolas (9-5) allowed two runs over eight innings to earn the win.

Dragons at BayStars — ppd.

Pacific League

Lions 8, Eagles 0

At MetLife Dome, Ken Togame (6-4) allowed three hits and two walks over seven innings as Seibu shutout league-leading Rakuten en route to its 10th straight win.

Fighters at Marines — ppd.

Hawks at Buffaloes — Late