The Seibu Lions kept their slim title chances alive and simultaneously put some added pressure on the first-place Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters with a 4-3 win over the Orix Buffaloes on Sunday afternoon.
With the second-place Lions' victory over the Buffaloes coupled by the Fighters' 4-1 loss to the Softbank Hawks later the same night, the Lions moved within three games of the PL-leading Fighters.
Nippon Ham, whose magic number remained at two and will be idle until Wednesday, can still clinch its first PL title in three years at the earliest on Tuesday, if Seibu loses two in a row to the Lotte Marines, or loses once and ties Lotte once.