Taishi Nakagawa blasted a solo home run in the 10th inning off Scott Mathieson to lift the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to a come-from-behind win over the Yomiuri Giants 4-3 in interleague action on Sunday.
With the game tied 3-3, Nakagawa led off the bottom of the 10th and hit a fastball into the stands in left to lift the Eagles to victory over the three-time defending Central League champs in front of a packed house at Kobo Stadium Miyagi.
"It was 2-0, a hitter's count, so I was looking fastball and wanted to put a big swing on it," said the 24-year-old Nakagawa, who has played almost exclusively in the minors since the Eagles selected him as their second draft pick in 2008.