Kenta Imamiya, Alfredo Despaigne and Hikaru Kawase drove in two runs apiece as the Pacific League-leading Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks eked out a 7-5 victory over the Seibu Lions on Monday.
The Hawks turned a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead in the third thanks to Imamiya's two-run single and Despaigne's two-run homer at PayPay Dome.
Kawase added a two-run double for the home team in the seventh. Nao Higashihama (10-6) allowed three runs in 5⅔ innings for the win, and Livan Moinelo closed out the ninth for his 22nd save.
"Anything could happen in this wild game," Imamiya said. "I'm glad we won the first game of the (three-game) series. We've been thinking about winning one game at a time. We'll continue to play hard to finish the season with a good result."
Lions starter Dietrich Enns (10-7) took the loss. Their cleanup hitter Hotaka Yamakawa hit his PL-leading 39th home run with one runner on in the sixth.
Elsewhere, Takahiro Norimoto (8-8) pitched seven innings of one-run ball with nine strikeouts as the Rakuten Eagles beat the Orix Buffaloes 8-2.
Shota Suzuki (1-2) and three relievers combined for a seven-hit shutout in the Chiba Lotte Marines' 3-0 win over the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.
In the Central League, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars beat the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 7-1. The Hanshin Tigers beat the Chunichi Dragons 6-2.