Tadahito Iguchi hit a tie-breaking RBI sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth inning to turn back the tide as the Daiei Hawks edged the Chiba Lotte Marines 5-4 in the only Pacific League game Monday.
The victory at Fukuoka Dome was the Daiei Hawks' fifth in a row and put them at the top of the standings along with the Seibu Lions, who also have a 31-20 record.
Pedro Valdes put the home team on the scoreboard with a two-run homer off Shunsuke Watanabe (4-5) in the opening inning and Daiei took a 4-0 lead through the second, only to have Lotte bat around in the fourth and level the game.
Akichika Yamada (2-0) pitched three perfect innings from the sixth for the win and Koji Mise picked up his 11th save of the season.
The Marines, last in the PL standings, finished May having won just six of 23 games -- with 16 losses and one tied match.