Maikel Franco hit the first pitch he saw in the ninth inning over the left-field wall for a game-ending three-run pinch-hit home run, lifting the Rakuten Eagles to a 5-3 interleague win over the Central League's Yakult Swallows on Friday.
The Swallows took a 3-2 lead into the ninth inning at Fukushima Azuma Stadium after Yakult reliever Jose Espada (0-2) stranded the potential tying run in both the seventh and eighth innings.
But one-out singles from the Eagles chased Espada. Lefty Hiroki Hasegawa's first pitch hung up in the heart of the strike zone, and Franco put it over the fence for his season's first home run.
Among other interleague games Friday, the Pacific League-leading SoftBank Hawks won a clash of league leaders, beating the Hiroshima Carp 2-1. Yomiuri's Shosei Togo (5-2), coming off a no-hit shutout in his previous start, allowed a run in seven innings in the Giants' 4-1 win over the PL's Seibu Lions.
