The Orix Buffaloes got to former New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka early en route to a 6-3 win over the Rakuten Eagles on Monday.
Tomoya Mori went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs, and Yutaro Sugimoto also drove in two runs for the Pacific League-leading Buffaloes, who built a 5-0 lead after three innings at Kyocera Dome Osaka.
Rakuten got back into the game by scoring three runs in the fourth, but slugging catcher Mori gave Orix an insurance run in the sixth with his 16th home run of the season.
Atsuya Kogita (3-0) threw a scoreless fifth in relief for the win. Tanaka (7-10) gave up five runs in just 2-1/3 innings.
Soichiro Yamazaki picked up his ninth save.
In other PL action, the Lotte Marines edged the Seibu Lions 2-1 in 12 innings, while the SoftBank Hawks defeated the Nippon Ham Fighters 3-1.
In the Central League, Orlando Calixte hit a walk-off single to give the Chunichi Dragons an 8-7, 11-inning victory over the Hiroshima Carp.
The DeNA BayStars beat the CL champion Hanshin Tigers 3-2. The Yomiuri Giants walked off the Yakult Swallows 4-3 in 12 innings.
