Yoshio Itoi and Takuya Shimada each homered in a six-run fourth inning as the Orix Buffaloes overturned a two-run deficit in Tuesday's 7-3 win over the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.
Orix ace Chihiro Kaneko (16-5) allowed three runs in seven innings to earn the win. The right-hander scattered nine hits and a walk, while striking out five.
The Buffaloes are now second in the Pacific League, trailing the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks on winning percentage points, with the Hawks leading .562 to .561. The two teams will meet for the final time on Thursday in Fukuoka.
Orix has not won the PL since it went to the Japan Series in 1995 and 1996.
A night after their chase for the Pacific League's final playoff spot ended, the Eagles were sent reeling into fifth place.
Fighters 4, Seibu 3
At Sapporo Dome, retiring star Atsunori Inaba came off the bench in the seventh inning to belt a two-run home run that brought his team from a run down as Hokkaido Nippon Ham beat Seibu to win its fourth straight.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
Carp 7, Swallows 6
At Mazda Stadium, Ryosuke Kikuchi's eighth-inning RBI double broke a 6-6 tie as Hiroshima beat Tokyo Yakult and moved one game clear of Hanshin in the race for second place and the home-field advantage in the first stage of the CL playoffs.
BayStars 1, Tigers 0
At Koshien Stadium, Yokohama's Shun Yamaguchi (8-4) threw a three-hit shutout to outduel Hanshin's Randy Messenger (13-10), who allowed three hits over eight innings, but hit a batter with the bases loaded to push across the game's only run.
