Jeffrey Liefer hit a two-run homer among his two hits and Takeya Nakamura delivered a three-run home run in going 3-for-5 with four RBIs as the Seibu Lions pounded the Rakuten Eagles 11-4 in a preseason exhibition game Friday.
Hideaki Takahashi of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks pitches against the Yokohama BayStars during a preseason game at Yahoo Dome.
Liefer, Seibu's offseason acquisition from the Cleveland Indians, homered in the first inning after going 0-for-7 in the previous two games. Yasuhiro Ichiba, who is looking to seal a spot in the starting rotation, allowed three runs and six hits in five innings, while striking out seven and walking three.
Buffaloes 4, Carp 1
At Skymark Stadium in Kobe, Hiroaki Onishi doubled home two runs to cap a three-run seventh inning as Orix went on to down Hiroshima in a 10-hit attack.
Reliever Yuki Tanaka pitched two scoreless frames, allowing one hit and no walks and Yasunari Takagi got three outs in the ninth. Hiroshima infielder Kenta Kurihara continued his strong preseason showing, going 3-for-4.
BayStars 2, Hawks 1
Masaaki Koike homered to break a 1-1 tie in the eighth inning as Yokohama edged Softbank.
Ken Kadokura, Daisuke Miura and four other Yokohama pitchers limited Softbank to five hits at Yahoo Dome in Fukuoka. Softbank right-hander Hideaki Takahashi made a strong case for a spot in the starting rotation after pitching five scoreless innings.