Kazuhiro Hatakeyama singled in the winning run with two outs in the 11th inning to send the Tokyo Yakult Swallows to a 4-3 sayonara victory over the Central League-leading Yokohama BayStars on Thursday.
Tetsuto Yamada singled with two outs against right-hander Yota Kosugi, the BayStars' sixth pitcher of the evening, and pinch hitter Hiroyasu Tanaka singled him to second. Shingo Kawabata, 0-for-4 to that point, loaded the bases by beating out a little grounder to third for a single. Hatakeyama lined one into the gap in left to plate the winner.
The Swallows drew first blood before 17,959 at Tokyo's Jingu Stadium, when Yamada came home on a two-out Hatakeyama single in the first inning. Yamada drew a leadoff walk from Kazuki Mishima, stole second easily, went to third on a groundout before Hatakeyama delivered with a ground single.