Leo Gomez belted a game-tying two-run run homer in the eighth inning and pinch-hitter Kazuki Inoue drove in the winning run Sunday as the Chunichi Dragons rallied for a 9-8 victory over the Yomiuri Giants at the Tokyo Dome.
Gomez's liner off reliever Yasuyuki Kawamoto cleared the wall in left and Inoue slapped an opposite-field single to left that scored Takeshi Yamasaki from second, just beating the relay throw home.
Chunichi reliever Yukinaga Maeda picked up the win.
Kiyohara off ballot
Fan favorite Kazuhiro Kiyohara of the Yomiuri Giants, troubled this season with a nagging thigh injury, has been left off the ballot for this summer's All-Star baseball series, as fan voting is set to get under way on Thursday.
The All-Star Game committee of Nippon Professional Baseball on Monday announced the schedule for the three-game series in July, fan voting and the selection of the 30-man rosters for the Central League and Pacific League teams.
Kiyohara, 32, has been first in fan voting the last 14 years, but risks not being selected for the All-Star series for the first time since his debut season with the Seibu Lions in 1986.
The All-Star Game committee also said the series will go to Nagasaki for the first time.
The finale to the three-game series will be played at Nagasaki Big N Stadium on July 25, following games at Tokyo Dome on July 22 and Green Stadium Kobe on July 23.