Pinch hitter Takumi Kuriyama hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the eighth inning and Hideaki Wakui threw eight strong innings Sunday as the Seibu Lions edged the Pacific League-leading Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 3-2.
Chunichi Dragons starter Kenichi Nakata delivers a pitch against the Hanshin Tigers on Sunday at Nagoya Dome.
KYODO PHOTOKuriyama drove a 3-1 pitch from reliever Shintaro Ejiri (6-4) over the wall in right-center in the bottom of the eighth after a Hichori Morimoto RBI single tied the game at 2-2 in the top half of the inning at Goodwill Dome.
Wakui (16-6) held Nippon Ham to two runs and six hits on his way to becoming the first 16-game winner in Japanese baseball this year. Alex Graman closed out the ninth for his 13th save.