Atsunori Inaba came a homer shy of hitting for the cycle and drove in four runs Thursday to fuel the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in a 7-0 shutout of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to clinch a three-game set.
Nippon Ham, which has won nine of its last 11 games, retook sole possession of first place, moving a game ahead of Rakuten in the Pacific League.
Brian Sweeney (1-3) pitched six innings, allowing five hits and striking out four at Kleenex Stadium.