Taiwan international Yang Dai-kang broke a 2-2 tie with a two-run, seventh-inning single as the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters defeated the Chiba Lotte Marines 5-2 at Sapporo Dome on Wednesday.
The victory, combined with the Seibu Lions' 3-2 loss to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, increased the Fighters' Pacific League lead to two games. The Marines' defeat dropped them into fifth place, a half-game back of the Eagles.
The Marines tied the game in the top of the sixth on a two-run homer by Toshiaki Imae, but lefty Yuya Ishii (1-1) shut the visitors down in the top of the seventh and the Fighters mounted a rally against right-hander Shingo Ono (2-5) after two were out in the home half of the inning.