A night after sealing a victory with his glove, Shingo Kawabata broke a 2-2, ninth-inning tie with a two-run single on Thursday as the Tokyo Yakult Swallows beat the Chunichi Dragons 5-2 to complete a three-game sweep at Nagoya Dome.
With no outs and the bases loaded, Kawabata singled off career saves leader Hitoki Iwase (1-2) and Wladimir Balentien followed with a sacrifice fly.
Balentien tied the game in the eighth with his 39th home run, putting him on a pace to hit 61 for the season, a figure that would surpass Japan's single-season record of 55.