Yuma Tongu homered twice and drove in five runs for the Orix Buffaloes in their 8-3 win over the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on Wednesday.
The victory at Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi moved the defending Pacific League champion Buffaloes to within one game of the second-place Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, and 2½ games ahead of the fourth-place Eagles, who lost their fourth straight.
Buffaloes lefty Daiki Tajima (9-3), pitching for the first time since Aug. 9, allowed three runs over seven innings while striking out eight.