Tomoya Mori drove in two runs and Hiroya Miyagi worked out of trouble to win a pitchers' duel as the Pacific League-leading Orix Buffaloes scraped past the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 2-1 on Thursday.
Trailing 1-0 in the first inning at Kyocera Dome Osaka against 42-year-old lefty Tsuyoshi Wada (6-5) Mori tied the game with a sacrifice fly.
The Hawks loaded the bases against Miyagi (8-4) in the fourth but failed to score, and Mori put the hosts in front by leading off the bottom of the inning with his 13th home run.
Wada was otherwise solid, allowing four hits and no walks while striking out five over six innings. Miyagi also lasted six innings, in which he gave up five hits, walked three and hit a batter.
Three Orix relievers each worked a scoreless inning with Yoshihisa Hirano earning his 20th save.
Elsewhere, the Seibu Lions beat Masahiro Tanaka (6-8) and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 4-2, while the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters completed a three-game sweep of the Chiba Lotte Marines, shutting them out for the second straight night, 5-0.
In the Central League, Hiroki Tokoda (10-3) threw a five-hit shutout in the Hiroshima Carp's 6-0 win over the league-leading Hanshin Tigers. The Yomiuri Giants blanked the Chunichi Dragons 2-0, while the DeNA BayStars beat the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 5-3.