The Saitama Seibu Lions squandered a four-run lead by allowing Orix to score five times in the eighth inning, but Hiroyuki Nakajima saved the day with a three-run homer in the bottom half to give the Pacific League leader a dramatic come-from-behind 10-8 victory on Saturday afternoon.
The teams tied 1-1 and 2-2 in a seesaw contest before Seibu took a 7-3 lead, featuring a two-run homer by Hiram Bocachica in the sixth and Takeya Nakamura's three-run drive in the seventh.
Tuffy Rhodes capped a five-run eighth with a three-run blast of his own to give Orix an 8-7 lead before Nakajima went deep to left with two out in the bottom of the frame.