Five-time Pacific League home run champ Takeya Nakamura opened his long-ball account on Thursday, when the Seibu Lions defeated the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 6-1 and remain unbeaten in five games this season.
Before 25,949 on a chilly afternoon at Kobo Stadium Miyagi, Lions No. 3 hitter Hideto Asamura tied the game 1-1 in the fourth inning off right-hander Manabu Mima with his first home run of the year, and Nakamura followed with his first.
"Asa hit the game-tying run and somehow I managed to put us ahead," Nakamura said.