Atsushi Ugumori tied the game with a leadoff homer in the fifth inning and made an encore performance with a two-run shot in the sixth as the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters rallied past the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in a 5-3 victory on Thursday.
Sho Nakata had an RBI double before Ugumori went deep to left in his second straight at-bat, his second of the night off Softbank left-handed starter Hiroki Yamada (6-7) at Yahoo Dome.
Tomoya Yagi (6-2) allowed two runs over 6⅔ innings, striking out six and walking none. Hisashi Takeda pitched a perfect ninth for his 13th save.
The second-place Fighters won their third in a row and came within percentage points of the Pacific League-leading Chiba Lotte Marines. Nippon Ham is 23-17 with three ties on the road.
Lions 2, Marines 1
At Seibu Dome, lefty Yusei Kikuchi (1-0) limited the damage to one run in five innings of work to win his first decision of the season, and Seibu edged Chiba Lotte to move into third place.
Takeya Nakamura hit a leadoff drive in the second off Shingo Ono (1-1), matching the league high with his 15th home run this season. Takumi Kuriyama broke a 1-1 tie with his solo blast in the third.
Buffaloes 1, Eagles 0
At Kyocera Dome, Kei Igawa combined with two pitchers for a three-hit shutout as Orix sent Tohoku Rakuten to its third straight loss to fall into fourth place.
Igawa (2-3) gave up just two singles while walking five over seven innings. Yoshihisa Hirano pitched the eighth and Mamoru Kishida closed out the ninth for his 16th save. Wataru Karashima (3-2) took the loss for Rakuten.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
Dragons 4, Tigers 1
Carp 16, Swallows 12
Giants 6, BayStars 4
