Two-time defending Pacific League batting champion Masataka Yoshida hit a pair of late home runs to power the defending champion Orix Buffaloes to a 3-2 win over the Seibu Lions on Saturday.
Considered by some MLB scouts to be Japanese baseball's best pure hitter, Yoshida went 3-for-4 with a first-inning single, and tie-breaking homers in the sixth and eighth innings, his third and fourth long bombs of the season.
Right-hander Taisuke Kondo (1-0), pitching in his second game this season in his comeback from September 2020 elbow surgery, allowed a pair of hits but preserved a 2-2 eighth-inning tie. He was credited with the win after Yoshida's second home run.