Nobuhiro Matsuda drove in three runs, including the seventh-inning tiebreaker, as the Pacific League-leading Fukuoka Softbank Hawks pulled away to beat the Seibu Lions 9-6 on Thursday.
The Hawks took the lead three times only to see Seibu tie it. With the game knotted 5-5 in the top of the seventh at Seibu Prince Dome, Yuki Yanagita opened with a single and Lee Dae-ho singled him to second with one out.
Ryohei Fujiwara (0-1), whose impressive slider had kept the Hawks in check since he entered in relief in the third inning, was beaten on his fastball by Matsuda, who pulled one to left to put Softbank on top.