Shohei Otani brought his team from behind with a two-run home run and the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters held off the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles for a 2-1 Pacific League win on Sunday.
Although he has been the Fighters' most effective hitter when he's been in the batting order, he had only an infield single in his previous five at-bats when he came up in the sixth with one out and the tying run on third.
"I was just thinking about building a rally," Otani said. "I hadn't been hitting much since yesterday, so it was great to hit when it counted."