Brad Eldred delivered a clutch two-out, two-run single as the Hiroshima Carp came from behind and made a winner out of comeback kid Takaya Kawauchi.
Trailing by a run with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, Eldred chopped a pitch into left field and the Carp went on to beat their nearest playoff rivals, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, 4-2 at Mazda Stadium.
Kawauchi (1-0) entered with two outs and a man on in the seventh and retired all four batters he faced to earn his first win in eight seasons. The Carp's No. 1 draft pick in 1999 was released after the 2009 season but stayed in baseball the next two years on a development contract with the Carp, who re-signed him on May 18.