The wind may have affected Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles pitcher Takahiro Norimoto on Friday night, but not nearly as much as Toshiaki Imae's bat did.
Imae hit a towering home run in the second and hit a tie-breaking double in the fifth to back starter Yoshihisa Naruse in the Chiba Lotte Marines' 4-3 victory over the Eagles on Friday night at QVC Marine Field.
"I was able to really get in good swings during my at-bats today," Imae said. "This is an important game for the team."