Lefty Hiroki Tokoda worked into the eighth inning and batterymate Tsubasa Aizawa singled in two runs for the Hiroshima Carp, who took over the Central League lead with their 10th straight win, 4-1 Thursday over the Yakult Swallows.
Tokoda (9-2) allowed a run on four hits and a walk in 7-1/3 innings. He left the game after hurting his hand throwing a pitch.
"Aizawa called a terrific game, and though I forced a pitching change on us at the end, I was determined not to allow another run," Tokoda said.
The game was tied 1-1 through six innings, with 43-year-old Swallows southpaw Masanori Ishikawa proving just as tough as his Carp counterpart. Ishikawa, too, left the game hurt after stepping awkwardly on a fielding play to start the bottom of the sixth.
The Carp opened the scoring in the fifth on a Shota Dobayashi double and an Aizawa single, and took the lead in the seventh against the Swallows' bullpen when Aizawa's little flare dropped for an RBI single.
Dobayashi, who also walked and got down a crucial sacrifice, singled in two runs in the eighth to put the game on ice.
The DeNA BayStars held off the Chunichi Dragons 2-1, while the Hanshin Tigers lost 9-6 to the Yomiuri Giants to fall a game back of the Carp.
In the Pacific League, the Nippon Ham Fighters, who ended a 13-game losing streak on Wednesday, won their second straight, beating up on Masahiro Tanaka (5-6) and the Rakuten Eagles 9-5.
