Daisuke Masuda went 2-for-2 at the plate and connected for a solo homer in the seventh inning Saturday to lead the Kintetsu Buffaloes to a 9-1 win over the Orix BlueWave in Kobe.

Hirotoshi Kitagawa belted a solo homer off former Montreal Expos pitcher Masato Yoshii and Masuda followed with his fourth homer of the season in the next at-bat as the Buffaloes took a 5-1 lead.

Masuda is playing left field in place of Tuffy Rhodes, who was handed a two-game suspension for charging the mound in Wednesday's 11-3 win over Seibu. Masuda hit a two-run homer in Friday's 7-1 win over the BlueWave.