Lion-hearted rally …
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Seibu turns around one-run deficit to beat Rakuten
It was starting to get late and the natives were getting restless. A clutch two-out rally in the sixth inning restored calm to the fans and took care of the Rakuten Eagles on Thursday at Seibu Dome.
Esteban German dunked a single into right to score Hideto Asamura, who singled with two out in the sixth, and Shogo Akiyama, who walked, to put the Lions up by a run. Asamura cracked a solo homer in the eighth to pad the lead, and the bullpen made it stand up.
Hideaki Wakui saved it for Ken Togame (5-0), who worked 1.2 innings in relief of Kazuhisa Ishii [working on four days’ rest]. It was Wakui’s 28th save for the Pacific League’s second-place Lions.
The Lions had four hits -- two in the sixth and two in the eighth -- and scored runs in each inning. They remained two games behind first-place Nippon Ham [which they face in Sapporo for two on Friday and Saturday], and three games ahead of SoftBank.
The Fighters have six games left, while the Lions have nine to play.
FIGHTERS 3, MARINES 1
Yoshio Itoi slugged his eighth homer, a two-run shot in the first, and Atsunori Inaba went deep for the 10th time [his 13th consecutive season hitting double figures in longballs, 15th overall] as Nippon Ham secured a postseason berth with a win over Lotte at home.
It’s the team’s second straight trip and fifth overall appearance in the Climax Series playoffs.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
CARP 2, GIANTS 1
Soichiro Amaya’s walk-off single in the ninth scored two and pushed Hiroshima past Yomiuri at The Zoom.
Yomiuri closer Kentaro Nishimura (3-2) took the loss, putting a halt to his club-record stretch of 28 consecutive scoreless outings.
BAYSTARS 2, DRAGONS 1
Alex Ramirez homered in the fourth to move to 12 hits shy of 2,000, and Kentaro Takasaki (6-10) won his second straight decision with six innings of one-run ball as Yokohama won its series over Chunichi at Nagoya Dome.
Ramirez would be the first import player to reach 2,000 hits and qualify for the Golden Players Club.
TIGERS 12, SWALLOWS 0
Rookie Hayata Ito slugged his first pro homer, a grand slam in a five-run fifth, and Akira Iwamoto (2-0) tossed six sharp innings as Hanshin ripped Yakult at Jingu Stadium.