Opener, closer, middleman, it's all the same to the Seibu Lions' lineup.
When the Lions' bats are roaring, it doesn't matter who is on the mound or when they get there, they're going to get hit. Hard.
Shogo Akiyama and Tomoya Mori keyed the five-run third inning that put the Lions in control, and their teammates piled on during a seven-run fifth as the defending Pacific League champs routed the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 16-3 in front of a crowd of 37,058 on Saturday at Tokyo Dome.