TOKOROZAWA, SAITAMA PREF. – Right-hander Keisuke Honda threw six innings, and Sosuke Genda had a big day at the plate to lead the Seibu Lions to a 7-0 Pacific League victory over the Orix Buffaloes on Saturday afternoon.
On a rainy day, Honda (3-3) located and mixed his fastball with his changeup and slider to keep the Buffaloes hitters off balance, as the Lions bounced back from being shut out the night before.
“I’ve really wanted to get a win like this,” Honda said. “It’s been two months since my last win. After we lost last night, I absolutely wanted to get that win today.
“Even when runners got on base, I was able to stay poised and hang in there as I tried to allow as few runs as possible. The biggest thing was in the sixth inning when I allowed a leadoff walk and a hit, but didn’t give up any runs.”
Three Seibu relievers each pitched an inning apiece to close out the game.
Genda, the No. 2 hitter in the Lions’ lineup, went 4-for-5 with an RBI triple and a double. He scored twice and drove in two runs at MetLife Dome.
Orix starter Tsubasa Sakakibara (3-4) allowed three runs in five innings to take the loss. He gave up two quick runs in the first on a leadoff single by Shogo Akiyama, Genda’s triple and a Shuta Tonosaki double.
Yuji Kaneko put the game on ice with a two-run home run to cap the Lions’ three-run sixth inning.
Eagles 2, Marines 2 (6)
At Sendai’s Rakuten Seimei Park, Tohoku Rakuten and Chiba Lotte played to a tie in a game that was called on account of rain after the top of the sixth inning.
Hawks 5, Fighters 4
At Sapporo Dome, Seiji Uebayashi had three hits, including a two-run, ninth-inning, inside-the-park home run off Naoya Ishikawa (1-2) as Fukuoka SoftBank topped Hokkaido Nippon Ham.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
Dragons 6, Tigers 1
At Nagoya Dome, Chunichi decided the game in a five-run second inning, while Yudai Ono (5-5) pitched seven innings in a victory over Hanshin.
Giants 6, Swallows 2
At Akita Prefecture’s Komachi Stadium, Shun Yamaguchi (8-2) threw seven shutout innings, and Daikan Yoh broke up a scoreless game with a two-run, fourth-inning single as CL-leading Yomiuri topped Tokyo Yakult.
BayStars 2, Carp 1 (10)
At Yokohama Stadium, Toshiro Miyazaki’s two-out, 10th-inning RBI single lifted Yokohama over Hiroshima.
