Takeya Nakamura homered twice and drove in five runs, while a costly error by the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters paved the way for the Seibu Lions' 10-8 victory on Wednesday afternoon.
In a game that was called on account of darkness with no outs in the top of the eighth, the second-place Lions moved to within 2½ games of the Pacific League-leading Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, whose game against the Orix Buffaloes in Kyoto was rained out for the second-straight day.
Nakamura's 24th home run of the season, a two-run first-inning shot, opened the scoring at Kushiro Stadium in Hokkaido. His 25th, a three-run blast, broke a 3-3 tie in the fourth.