Pinch-hitter Tetsuya Kakiuchi connected for a solo homer in the bottom of the 11th inning Saturday to lift the Chiba Lotte Marines to a 3-2 win over the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.
Yakult Swallows fans at Tokyo Dome on Saturday carry a series of placards with the message "Furuta, don't give up," to show their support to Yakult catcher
Atsuya Furuta, chairman of the players association, who has been working to delay the
merger of the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes and the Orix BlueWave
Kakiuchi's homer into the left field stands at Chiba Marine Stadium gave Bobby Valentine's team a key win as they moved a half game ahead of the Fighters into third place in the standings. The third place team qualifies for the Pacific League playoffs.