Kenya Wakatsuki's two-run, fourth-inning double sparked a five-run inning as the Orix Buffaloes came from behind to beat the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 8-4 on Friday night and knock them out of first place.

"I hit it on the sweet spot. It's been so long since that happened that I was surprised," said Wakatsuki, a career .210 hitter.

Before 26,324 at Kyocera Dome, Eagles starter Takayuki Kishi survived one tough scrape, but the second proved fatal. The right-hander stranded three runners in the second after walking in a run, but blew a 2-1 lead in the fourth.