Chusei Mannami and Daigo Kamikawabata each drove in two runs as the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters came from behind Tuesday to earn a 6-5 Pacific League victory over the Chiba Lotte Marines.
Trailing by a run in the fifth inning at Nippon Ham’s Es Con Field Hokkaido, Mannami’s second hit of the game off Yuji Nishino (8-3) tied the game 3-3.
“It was kind of a lucky hit off the end of the bat, but whatever works if it gets us a run,” Mannami said.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Kamikawabata singled in two to break the tie.
Mannami, whose first two singles came on poorly struck balls, ripped a seventh-inning single to make it 6-4. The insurance run allowed Nippon Ham closer Seigi Tanaka to record his 20th save despite surrendering a ninth-inning home run.
Fighters lefty Takayuki Kato (6-8) allowed three runs, one earned, in 5⅔ innings to collect the win.
Elsewhere, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles beat the Seibu Lions 5-3.
In the Central League, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars hit five home runs in a 9-3 demolition of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, while the league-leading Hanshin Tigers’ 10-game winning streak came to an end in a 7-6 loss to the Hiroshima Carp.