Takeshi Yamasaki hit a pinch-hit RBI single to drive in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning Tuesday as the Pacific League cellar-dwelling Rakuten Eagles snapped a five-game losing skid with a 5-4 home-game victory over the Yakult Swallows in interleague play.
Yamasaki, a 19th-year veteran who found a new home with the Sendai-based team this year, carried a full-count pitch by Masahiro Yoshikawa (1-1) to center with two out and a runner on third at Fullcast Stadium after the Swallows scored two runs to knot the game at 4-all in the sixth.
Marines 6, Carp 3
At Fukuyama Municipal Stadium, Tsuyoshi Nishioka hit a two-run triple off Hiroki Kuroda (5-2) to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning and capped the scoring with a bases-loaded RBI groundout in a two-run ninth as Chiba Lotte overpowered Hiroshima.