Tsuyoshi Wada pitched his second shutout of the season and Munenori Kawasaki went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, leading the Softbank Hawks to a 3-0 win over the Orix Buffaloes on Wednesday.
The Hawks reduced their magic number to 12 for clinching their second straight Pacific League title, while the third-place Buffaloes had their winning streak halted at five games.
Wada (13-5) scattered four hits, struck out four and walked none in a 114-pitch outing at Kyocera Dome.
The left-hander did not allow a runner to reach second base until Fumihiro Suzuki doubled leading off the ninth inning. Wada stranded Suzuki at second, retiring the next three batters
"I heard that the Buffaloes were hitting well in recent games, so I kept my pitches down in the zone," Wada said. "My changeup was good tonight. I just hope to continue helping the team cut the magic number."
Hayato Terahara (11-9) gave up three runs on 10 hits in seven innings in the only game of the day.
The four other scheduled games were postponed, including those at Tokyo Dome and Seibu Dome, because of a strong typhoon.