Yuma Tongu and Yutaro Sugimoto belted ninth-inning solo home runs to bring the two-time defending Pacific League champion Orix Buffaloes from behind in a 3-2 interleague win over the Central League-leading Hanshin Tigers on Thursday.
Trailing 2-1 with one out against Tigers closer Atsuki Yuasa (0-2) at Hyogo Prefecture's Koshien Stadium near Osaka, Tongu tied it with his fifth home run of the season.
With two outs, Sugimoto, the PL's 2021 home run leader, hit his 10th off a 3-2 pitch, a mammoth blast that landed well up into the venerable ballpark's left-field stands.
"I went to the plate relaxed because Tongu had homered for us," Sugimoto said. "It really carried."
Jacob Waguespack (3-3) worked a scoreless eighth to earn the win, and Yoshihisa Hirano pitched the ninth to record his ninth save.
Tongu made it 1-0 Buffaloes in the fourth when he singled in Tomoya Mori. The Tigers, however, came back with two runs in the home half, tying it on an error and taking the lead on an RBI single by starting pitcher Masashi Ito.
On a night with just five games after the DeNA BayStars and Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' game was washed out by rain, PL teams won three and drew one.
The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks both won wild slug fests, the Eagles beating the Hiroshima Carp 11-7 and the Hawks getting past the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 9-7 in a see-saw 10-inning game.
The CL's Yomiuri Giants also needed extra innings, defeating the Seibu Lions 3-2 in 10 innings for their fifth straight victory, while the Chunichi Dragons and Lotte Marines settled for a 1-1, 12-inning tie.