Yuki Yanagita hit a three-run homer, and ace pitcher Kodai Senga allowed two runs over six innings to return the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks to the top of the Pacific League standings with a 4-3 win over the Orix Buffaloes on Sunday.
The Hawks win at Kyocera Dome Osaka knocked the Buffaloes back to third place, where they started the series Saturday before their ace, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, pitched the hosts into first place.
"I was able to put a really good swing on the pitch, I was concentrating well," Yanagita said. "I'm not seeing many fat pitches, but I'm concentrating so that when I do get one I can do something with it."
Orix starter Sachiya Yamasaki (5-8) gave up a one-out single in the first to Masaki Mimori and issued a walk ahead of Yanagita, who blasted an opposite-field homer into the third deck in left. Mimori's third inning homer made it 4-0.
Senga (10-5) allowed five hits and three walks while striking out seven. The defending PL champion Buffaloes battled back with two runs in the sixth and another in the eighth, before Livan Moinelo worked a scoreless ninth for his 21st save.
The Saitama Seibu Lions returned to second place with a 3-0 win over the last-place Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, while Hiroto Kobukata's three-run eighth-inning home run lifted the fourth-place Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles over the Chiba Lotte Marines 3-2.
On Monday, the Hawks host the Lions, while the Eagles host the Buffaloes.
The Central League-leading Tokyo Yakult Swallows squeaked past the Yokohama DeNA BayStars 1-0 after Yasuhiro Ogawa (7-8) pitched seven innings and drove in the only run. Second-place DeNA fell 7½ games back.