Yuma Tongu, whose offense carried Orix early in the season, homered twice and drove in four runs to boost the Pacific League-leading Buffaloes to an 8-4 win Wednesday over the SoftBank Hawks.
Batting in the first inning at Fukuoka's PayPay Dome with two outs and two on, Tongu hit the first pitch from Kohei Arihara (6-4), a hanging splitter up in the zone and launched it into the left-field stands for his 14th homer of the year.
"There was a runner in scoring position, and the best thing was being able to put a good swing on the ball," Tongu said.
The two-time defending league champs scored three unearned runs in the second, and Tongu's second homer made it 7-0 in the third.
The hosts got onto the scoreboard against Daiki Tajima (5-3), starting with Kensuke Kondo's fourth-inning solo homer. Tajima allowed three runs over five innings while striking out eight to earn the win.
Elsewhere in the PL, the Nippon Ham Fighters beat the second-place Lotte Marines 3-2, while Hideto Asamura hit a three-run game-ending sayonara home run in the Rakuten Eagles' 6-4 win over his former team, the Seibu Lions.
In the Central League, Shugo Maki's tie-breaking three-run homer powered the DeNA BayStars past the league-leading Hanshin Tigers 4-2, the second-place Hiroshima Carp beat the Yomiuri Giants 2-1, and the Chunichi Dragons held off the Yakult Swallows 3-2.
