The Pacific League-leading Orix Buffaloes rode solo home runs from rookie Kotaro Kurebayashi, Olympic team member Masataka Yoshida and slugger Yutaro Sugimoto to beat the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 3-1 on Wednesday and win their 11th consecutive decision.
The win streak is the franchise's longest since the Hankyu Braves managed the feat in 1984 en route to a PL pennant. The Buffaloes, who finished last in each of the last two seasons, are looking for the franchise's first PL pennant since 1996, when Ichiro Suzuki led the Orix BlueWave to the Japan Series title.
Kurebayashi opened the scoring in the third inning at Kyocera Dome Osaka, leading off with his fifth home run, off Fighters starter Takahide Ikeda (3-7).