Kyodo

Hiroyasu Tanaka hit a game-ending sacrifice fly in the 11th inning as the Tokyo Yakult Swallows rallied to beat the Seibu Lions 6-5 on Tuesday night.

Seibu reliever Alex Graman (1-1) loaded the bases on an error and two singles before Tanaka smacked a line drive to left to push across the winning run at Jingu Stadium.

"I was trying to stay positive in each at-bat and the results followed for me tonight," said Tanaka. "My timing had been off somewhat but I was able to stay patient at the plate. I haven't been performing well for the team, so I wanted to do something."