Yuya Ogo brought the Rakuten Eagles from a run down in the ninth inning with a two-out, two-run homer in their 3-2 interleague victory over the defending Central League and Japan Series champion Hanshin Tigers on Wednesday.
At Hyogo Prefecture's Koshien Stadium outside Osaka, Ogo came up with two outs and the tying run on second, and lofted a fat slider from Tigers closer Suguru Iwazaki (2-3) just over the fence in right for his third home run.
The Eagles, fourth in the Pacific League, sent closer Takahiro Norimoto out to seal the win. Norimoto, who moved to the bullpen this season after years as Rakuten's ace, survived a hit batsman and a walk to earn his 13th save.
The Eagles joined the PL-leading SoftBank Hawks at the top of the interleague standings with a 6-2 record, while the Tigers fell to 1-6.
Among other games on Wednesday, the PL's Lotte Marines bounced back from an 18-2 trouncing the night before to hold off the CL-leading Yomiuri Giants 4-3 behind eight scoreless innings from Atsuki Taneichi (4-3).
