The Hiroshima Carp lowered their magic number to clinch the Central League pennant to two on Wednesday with a 12-4 win over the Yokohama BayStars.
Leadoff man Kosuke Tanaka provided the spark after rookie pitcher Yuta Nakamura surrendered two runs in the top of the first.
Tanaka homered to open the home half of the first off rookie BayStars pitcher Satoshi Iizuka (1-3). A double and a two-out single set the table, and Tomohiro Abe's RBI single tied it. The inning got away from the BayStars when the No. 8 hitter was walked intentionally only for Carp pitcher Yuta Nakamura to single in a run. Tanaka then capped the rally with a two-run single.