Masataka Yoshida belted two home runs, including a ninth-inning walk-off blast that tied the Japan Series, as the Pacific League's Orix Buffaloes beat the Central League's Tokyo Yakult Swallows 6-4 in Game 5 on Thursday.
The series between Japan's two repeat league champs, a rematch of last year's clash won in six games by Yakult, stands at two wins apiece with one tie.
Trailing by a run in the ninth, Orix tied it on a walk, an infield single by Masahiro Nishino, and a one-out throwing error on pitcher Scott McGough. With two outs, the Swallows closer hung an 0-1 splitter for Yoshida to hit out and end it at Kyocera Dome Osaka.