Shinya Tsuruoka hit his first career homer to break a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning as the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters beat the Yokohama BayStars 3-1 Saturday for their third consecutive win.
Hanshin's Tomoaki Kanemoto scores behind Softbank catcher Katsuki Yamazaki Saturday at Yahoo Dome.
Second-year backup catcher Tsuruoka homered over the left-center fence leading off the seventh and Fernando Seguignol added an RBI double for the Pacific League leaders in the eighth in interleague play at Sapporo Dome.
Shintaro Ejiri (4-2) held Yokohama to one run and seven hits in seven-plus innings. Hisashi Takeda pitched a scoreless ninth for his third save.