Shogo Akiyama provided the late-game heroics, blasting a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth, as the Seibu Lions came from behind to beat the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 7-5 and move another step closer to the Pacific League pennant.
The win over the second-place Hawks cut the Lions' magic number to clinch the pennant from five to three.
In a see-sawing contest, Takuya Kai gave the Hawks a 5-4 lead in the top of the sixth with a 3-RBI double off Lions reliever Katsunori Hirai, who had loaded the bases after replacing Ryuya Ogawa on the mound.