Takahiro Norimoto allowed a run over six innings and Zelous Wheeler's home run brought the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles from behind in a crucial 2-1 win over the Seibu Lions on Monday.
The win at MetLife Dome moved the third-place Eagles to within two games of the second-place Lions. Both teams have already clinched a spot in the Pacific League Climax Series first stage, but the team finishing second in the regular season will host the best-of-three series.
The Lions loaded the bases in the first inning but didn't score until the fourth, when Hotaka Yamakawa doubled and scored on Takeya Nakamura's two-out single.