Yusei Kikuchi battled for 6-2/3 innings, and two relievers finished strong as the Seibu Lions rallied for a 4-3, come-from-behind victory over the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters on Friday.
In the opener of a three-game series at MetLife Dome between the Pacific League's top two teams, relievers Katsunori Hirai (2-1) and Deunte Heath retired the last seven batters to increase Seibu's lead to 3-1/2 games.
With the Lions trailing 3-1, Hirai entered with two outs and a runner on second, and needed just four pitches to get the hosts out of the inning.