Yoshihito Ishii hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning as the Seibu Lions edged the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles 5-4 and regained the Pacific League lead on Saturday.
Seibu's Yoshihito Ishii (right) is greeted by his teammates in the dugout after hitting a two-run homer
in the eighth inning against the Eagles at Fullcast Stadium on Saturday. The Lions won 5-4.
KYODO PHOTOSeibu took over first place from the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters with a .603 winning percentage against .602 for Trey Hillman's team. The third-place Fukuoka Softbank Hawks (.591) are two games behind Seibu and Nippon Ham.
Ishii connected off Hisashi Ogura (6-7) to give the Lions a 5-3 lead at Fullcast Stadium, where home team Rakuten's last-place finish was guaranteed for the second straight year.