Wladimir Balentien moved one step closer to history, and the Hiroshima Carp remained on track for a long-awaited trip to the postseason.
In a way, everyone went home happy about something.
Balentien connected on his 54th home run of the year, a two-run shot off Carp ace Kenta Maeda in the first inning, but Yoshiyuki Ishihara's three-run shot in the third helped jumpstart Hiroshima's 9-3 rout of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows on Tuesday at Jingu Stadium.