Kodai Senga allowed a run over seven innings to win his fifth straight start as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks exploited their opponent's mistakes in a 2-1 win over the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters on Saturday.
Trailing 1-0 in the fifth inning, Go Kamamoto reached on a leadoff infield single against right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa (3-2). After a sacrifice, Kenta Imamiya singled to left. Left fielder Kensuke Kondo's throw held the runner at third, but it got past catcher Yushi Shimizu.
Uwasawa backed up the play and would have had a play at the plate had Shimizu not chased after the ball as well. A wild pitch put Imamiya on third, from where he scored on an Alfredo Despaigne sacrifice fly.