Daiki Tomei allowed two runs over eight innings and the Orix Buffaloes came from behind to beat the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks 6-3 on Thursday and win for the first time since April 7.
Trailing 2-1 after Softbank solo homers from Yuki Yanagita and Nobuhiro Matsuda, the Buffaloes tied it in the third on an RBI single by Francisco Caraballo before 15,421 at Kyocera Dome.
The hosts took the lead in the fifth after Yoshio Itoi led off with a double, his third hit of the game. With two outs, Hiroyuki Nakajima walked, and Eiichi Koyano singled in the go-ahead run. Takayoshi Kawabata put the Buffaloes in the driver's seat with a two-run triple.
Tomei (1-0) scattered five hits, and a walk, while striking out six for last-place Orix. Softbank starter Nao Higashihama (0-1) allowed five runs — all earned — in 4-2/3 innings of work.
Lions 8, Eagles 4
At Omiya Stadium, Takeya Nakamura tied the game with an RBI double in the fifth and 19-year-old Tomoya Mori belted his third home run in two nights, a three-run shot, as Seibu ran over Tohoku Rakuten.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
Tigers 6, Dragons 4
At Nagoya Dome, Tsuyoshi Nishioka broke a 4-4 tie with an RBI single in the sixth inning as Hanshin snapped league-leading Chunichi's three-game win streak.
Giants 7, BayStars 1
At Yokohama Stadium, Tomoyuki Sugano (2-2) allowed one run on three hits over seven innings as Yomiuri beat Yokohama to post its fourth straight victory, the Giants' longest winning streak of the year.
