Brandon Laird took advantage of Wade LeBlanc's implosion in the fourth inning with a go-ahead two-run single to help rally his team as the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters routed the Seibu Lions 6-1 to win their seventh in a row on Wednesday night.

The first-place Fighters won seven in a row for the first time since 2009, when they went on a nine-game winning streak under former manager Masataka Nashida en route to reaching the Japan Series.

LeBlanc was nearly unhittable for the first three innings against fellow lefty Mitsuo Yoshikawa, but the Fighters did all the damage necessary, and then some, in the decisive inning to get in the driver's seat in front of 23,228 at Tokyo Dome.