Masafumi Hirai pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the 12th inning on Sunday as the Orix Buffaloes held the Central League-leading Yomiuri Giants to a 5-5 tie in a see-saw interleague game at Tokyo Dome.
The right-hander, who led the Pacific League in saves in 1995 with Orix as a 20-year-old and returned to the club this season for the first time in 11 seasons, preserved a tie after the Buffaloes failed to score in the top of the inning.
He allowed Tetsuya Matsumoto's fifth single of the game to lead off the inning, but then retired Yomiuri's two most dangerous hitters, Hayato Sakamoto and Shinnosuke Abe. A two-out single put runners on the corners, and after a walk loaded the bases, Hirai ended the game by striking out pinch hitter Kazunari Sanematsu on four pitches.