The Chiba Lotte Marines bludgeoned Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks starter Shota Takeda on their way to a 9-1 win on Friday.
By opening their series against the Pacific League leaders with a third straight win, Lotte improved to 16-16 and moved 3½ games back from the Hawks.
SoftBank manager Kimiyasu Kudo pulled Takeda (2-3) after just 3-2/3 innings at Yafuoku Dome. The right-handersurrendered eight earned runs on 10 hits and three walks while fanning three.