Yuki Yanagita and Akira Nakamura hit ninth-inning home runs to lift the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks to a 3-2 win over the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters on Saturday.
The Hawks, who started the day second in the Pacific League and aiming to secure the second seed in the PL postseason, sent the middle of their order against Fighters closer and former Hawk Seigi Tanaka (2-3), who was looking for his 25th save of the year.
Yanagita spoiled that scenario with his 21st home run to tie it. Kensuke Kondo, who has an outside shot at winning a Triple Crown, grounded out before Nakamura won it.