Akito Takabe's RBI single capped a three-run ninth-inning rally that lifted the Chiba Lotte Marines to a 5-4 win over the Seibu Lions on Thursday.
With the top five Pacific League teams packed tightly together, Lotte's win at Zozo Marine Stadium kept the fourth-place Marines just 2½-games back of the league-leading Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Hard-throwing right-hander Kaima Taira (1-3) took the mound in the ninth for the second-place Lions. The Marines loaded the bases and pinch-hitter Hiromi Oka tied it with a two-run single.
Another walk reloaded the bases, and Takabe smashed the first pitch he saw into right.
"My teammates set the table and I was up there to end it. I'm glad I swung for all I was worth," Takabe said.
The Lions overcame an early 2-0 deficit on Hotaka Yamakawa's 29th home run in the fourth, and Takeya Nakamura's three-run double in the sixth.
Seiya Dohi (1-0) worked a scoreless ninth for the Marines in his season debut to earn the win.
"We hung in there in the ninth, had great at-bats and put together a good rally," Marines manager Tadahito Iguchi said.
Elsewhere in the PL, Kodai Senga (8-3) struck out eight over eight innings in SoftBank's 7-0 win over the third-place Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. The fifth-place Orix Buffaloes stayed one game back of Lotte with a 4-3 win over the last-place Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.
The Central League's Yomiuri Giants' weekend series in Nagoya against the Chunichi Dragons has been postponed after a total of 57 players, coaches and staff within the organization tested positive for the coronavirus in the past three days.
