Everything was set up for the Hiroshima Carp to lose.

That is, until the reigning Central League champions used a barrage of ninth-inning home runs to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Xavier Batista and Ryosuke Kikuchi hit solo home runs, and Ryuhei Matsuyama doubled in another run before reigning CL MVP Takahiro Arai added the coup de grace of a six-run frame with a two-out come-from-behind pinch-hit three-run home run that helped lift the Carp to a 9-8 win over the Swallows on Friday night at Jingu Stadium.