Backup catcher Ginjiro Sumitani hit a bases-clearing double in a seven-run fourth-inning rally, leading the Seibu Lions to a 7-3 victory over the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on Sunday.
Sumitani's double to left-center turned a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead and Hiroyuki Nakajima capped a string of three straight RBI singles as Seibu sent 12 batters to the plate in the fourth at Kleenex Stadium, chasing Masahiro Tanaka (4-3) in the process.
Tanaka gave up seven runs on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings, his shortest outing of the season.
Taiwanese right-hander Hsu Ming-chieh (1-0) allowed three runs and five hits in 7 2/3 innings in his first start of the season.
Buffaloes 11, Marines 3
At Chiba Marine Stadium, Arihito Muramatsu drove in five runs and Shinya Nakayama threw 6 1/3 effective innings as Orix notched its fourth win in five games.
Fighters 4, Hawks 3
At Fukuoka's Yahoo Dome, Kensuke Tanaka broke a 2-2 tie with an RBI double in the fifth inning and Terrmel Sledge followed with a sacrifice fly as Hokkaido Nippon Ham took advantage of a sketchy start by rookie Shota Oba to edge out Softbank.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
Dragons 6, BayStars 5
At Nagoya Dome, Kazuhiro Wada singled in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving Chunichi its first walkoff victory of the season in a win over Yokohama.
Swallows 3, Tigers 2
At Koshien Stadium, Kazuki Fukuchi hit a homer leading off the top of the ninth inning and Lim Chang Yong worked the bottom half as Tokyo Yakult ended Central League leader Hanshin's winning streak at four games.
Giants 6, Carp 3
At Tokyo Dome, Alex Ramirez hit a three-run homer and Kentaro Nishimura (4-2) threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings after a shaky start by Hiroshi Kisanuki as Yomiuri downed Hiroshima.
Mark Kroon struck out three in the ninth for his 12th save.
