Yuki Yanagita and Akira Nakamura hit ninth-inning home runs to lift the SoftBank Hawks to a 3-2 win over the 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.
"Seigi had been getting me out all year, so it really felt good to get some payback," Nakamura said. "I hadn't hit well after returning from fitness issues, so my first thought was, 'Finally, I hit something well.'"
The Hawks' win kept them one game ahead of the third-place Rakuten Eagles, 5-4 winners over the pennant-winning Orix Buffaloes. The fourth-place Lotte Marines walked off the Seibu Lions 5-4 in 10 innings to remain a half-game back of Rakuten.
Kondo entered the game leading the PL with 85 RBIs, tied for the home run lead with 25, and trailing Orix's Yuma Tongu in batting average .307 to .300. His average fell to .298 after going 0-for-3 with a walk. Tongu is currently unable to play due to a toe fracture.
In the Central League, the Hiroshima Carp remained one game ahead of the DeNA BayStars in the battle for their league's second seed.
The Carp beat the newly crowned champion Hanshin Tigers 2-1, while the BayStars came from behind to beat the Yakult Swallows 4-2. The Yomiuri Giants, who were eliminated from the postseason for the second straight year Friday, lost 2-1 to the Chunichi Dragons.
