Shohei Otani's tiebreaking, two-run homer propelled the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters to a 4-2 Pacific League win over the Orix Buffaloes on Wednesday.
With the game tied 2-2 with one on and two outs in the seventh inning after Kenshi Sugiya's squeeze bunt, Buffaloes lefty Nobuyoshi Yamada hung a 1-1 curve to Otani, the Fighters' ace pitcher and designated hitter, who launched the ball well back into the distant right-field stands.
The second-place Fighters held on for the win before 20,652 at Sapporo Dome to pull within a half game of the idle Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.