Akira Nakamura went 3-for-4 with an RBI on Wednesday as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks came back to beat the Chiba Lotte Marines 4-3 and register their fifth straight win to open the season.
The Pacific League leaders went ahead 2-0 after Lotte outfielder Hiromi Oka failed to get his glove on Nakamura’s grounder through center with one out and two runners aboard in the second at Zozo Marine Stadium.
The Marines got on the board in the third when Yudai Fujioka scored on Akito Takabe’s sacrifice fly.
They tied it in the fourth on another sacrifice fly , this time from Taiga Hirasawa, then went up 3-2 when SoftBank catcher Takuya Kai overthrew second trying to throw out a runner, allowing Toshiya Sato to score.
The Hawks regained the lead in the seventh after Yurisbel Gracial and Ryoya Kurihara drew consecutive bases-loaded walks from left-handed reliever Shota Suzuki (0-2), who was charged with the Marines’ third straight loss.
Right-hander Koya Fujii (2-0) got the win for throwing a 1-2-3 sixth after relieving starter Tsuyoshi Wada.
Some of the sheen was taken off the win when Kurihara was stretchered off after colliding with teammate Seiji Uebayashi in the outfield in the bottom of the ninth.
Elsewhere in the PL, the Seibu Lions beat the winless Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 5-3, while the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles overpowered the Orix Buffaloes 6-1.
In the Central League, the Hiroshima Carp also improved to a perfect 5-0 from the start of the season after hammering the Hanshin Tigers 8-3.
The DeNA BayStars held off the late-rallying Chunichi Dragons 7-6 and the Yomiuri Giants defeated their cross-city rivals the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 3-1 at Jingu Stadium.
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Source : Baseball – The Japan Times