Right-hander Kan Otake went the distance and Yoshiyuki Ishihara belted a sayonara home run to lift the streaking Hiroshima Carp to a 2-1 victory over the Hanshin Tigers on Tuesday evening.
The Central League's third-place Carp, who are aiming for their first postseason appearance since they lost the 1991 Japan Series, won seven straight for the first time in four years. They moved 5½ games ahead of the fourth-place Chunichi Dragons in the battle for the CL's third and final playoff spot, while pulling to within five games of the second-place Tigers.
"Otake gave us his all, so somehow I wanted to get him the win," said Ishihara, who drove in both Carp runs before a Mazda Stadium crowd of 21,787. "It's a good thing it reached the seats."