Eiichi Koyano drove in the go-ahead run and Brian Sweeney pitched seven strong innings Saturday as the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters maintained their lead in the Pacific League with a 2-1 victory over the Seibu Lions.
Softbank's Hitoshi Tamura smacks a go-ahead two-run RBI double in the third against the Orix Buffaloes at
Kyocera Dome on Saturday. The Hawks won 6-3.
KYODO PHOTOShinji Takahashi hit a one-out double and Koyano followed with a single to center field that gave Nippon Ham the lead for good in the sixth inning at Ocean Stadium in Hakodate. The Fighters won their third game in a row after dropping four straight.
Seibu went ahead in the second on an RBI single by Toru Hosokawa but Nippon Ham tied it in the third on a throwing error by shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima following an Atsunori Inaba grounder.