Pinch hitter Yuki Yoshimura hit a walk-off solo shot in the bottom of the 12th inning as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks rallied to beat the Orix Buffaloes 4-3 on Friday.
Hawks starter Kodai Senga, who has a 13-4 record, left the game after six innings with his team trailing 3-1, but ended up with a no-decisione.
Orix scored first as veteran infielder Eiichi Koyano drove Takahiro Okada home from second with an RBI single to center at Yafuoku Dome.
The visitors added two more runs in the fifth with back-to-back solo shots off Senga by fourth-year catcher Kenya Wakatsuki — his first career home run — and Okada, who blasted his 31st shot this season to make it 3-0.
The Hawks gradually came back, Akira Nakamura homering in the fifth and hitting an RBI sacrifice fly in the seventh to cut it to 3-2.
Seiji Uebayashi then hit a game-tying, two-out RBI single in the ninth for the PL champions off Orix closer Yoshihisa Hirano.
Senga allowed three runs on nine hits and a walk, striking out seven in his 92-pitch outing. Reliever Shinya Kayama (2-0) picked up the win after throwing a perfect 12th.
Orix starter Kazumasa Yoshida yielded two runs on two hits and three walks over 6-2/3 innings. Rookie and sixth reliever Keisuke Sawada (0-2) was tagged with the loss after Yoshimura sent his third pitch into the left-center field stands.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
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