Xavier Batista hit a bases-loaded RBI sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to lift the Hiroshima Carp 5-4 over the Yokohama BayStars in a seesaw game Thursday.
The Carp trimmed their magic number to claim their second straight Central League pennant to one.
Hiroshima got on the scoreboard first in the second inning when cleanup hitter Ryuhei Matsuyama struck a solo shot and Batista followed up with an RBI single one out later before 32,324 at Mazda Stadium.