Pacific League batting leader Seiichi Uchikawa homered twice and Kenichi Nakata pitched one-run ball over eight solid innings as the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks defeated the Chiba Lotte Marines 6-1 on Saturday afternoon.
Uchikawa had a two-run blast to left off Yuki Karakawa (0-3) in the fourth and took the right-hander on another ride, a solo shot over the center-field wall in the following at-bat in the sixth in the chill at QVC Marine Field.
"Since I can't play defense I wanted to do something as a hitter," said two-time batting champion Uchikawa, who has been bothered by pain in his right buttocks since Tuesday. He is batting .449 in 18 games this season.