Tokyo, 19 April, /AJMEDIA/
Shuta Tonosaki hit two of the Seibu Lions’ four home runs in a 7-3 win over the Pacific League-leading SoftBank Hawks on Tuesday.
The Lions turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning on back-to-back home runs by Tonosaki and Takeya Nakamura at Tokyo Dome.
In the fifth, Tonosaki’s three-run blast to left made it 5-1 before Mark Payton added a two-run shot for the second-place Lions.
“I’m glad to have hit my first opposite-field long ball in a while,” Tonosaki said on his first home run of the night. “It felt good to round the bases in front of a big crowd.”
Former closer Kaima Taira (2-0) held the Hawks to one run in six innings for the win. Shuta Ishikawa (1-1) took the loss.
In other PL action, Hideto Asamura homered twice in the late innings as the Rakuten Eagles rallied to beat the Orix Buffaloes 5-1 at Kyocera Dome Osaka.
The Lotte Marines sent the Nippon Ham Fighters to their third consecutive loss, winning 4-2 at Es Con Field Hokkaido.
In the Central League, Takumu Nakano delivered a walk-off, two-run double to give the Hanshin Tigers a 2-1 victory over the Hiroshima Carp.
The DeNA BayStars beat the Yomiuri Giants 2-0. The Yakult Swallows defeated the Chunichi Dragons by the same score.
