Tsuyoshi Wada started for the Hawks and had his shorttest ever stint in that role, as he was pummled for eight runs on six hits in 2.1 innings. 

Rookie Satoshi Yamazaki started for Seibu and was better only because he went longer into the game. But at the end of the day, he was charged with five runs, four earned, on five hits and five walks. Reliever Shinji Mori subsequently was hit around for the tying runs in the eighth and cost Yamazaki a not very deserved shiroboshi. So instead, closer Kiyoshi Toyoda had it entered in his ledger. 

The Lions surged to an ephemeral lead in the first, as rightfielder Tomoaki Sato singled to right, went to second on a sac bunt and first baseman Jose Fernandez walked. Wada poleaxed one into the leftcenterfield seats to make it 3-0. 

Yet, Yamazaki quickly found himself at a disadvantage in the second. First baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka thundered one into the rightfield seats for his first homer in five games. Catcher Kenji Johjima singled to left. Yamazaki plunked DH Julio Zuleta. Rightfielder Yudai Deguchi grounded to shortstop Munenori Kawasaki, who went to second for the force. Third baseman Ryo Yoshimoto grounded to Hirao, who booted it, and Johjima crossed. Centerfielder Hiroshi Shibahara, who had sat out the past two games with a back ache, doubled to rightcenter to send in two and it was 4-3 Hawks. 

However, Seibu shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima invalidated that with a shot into the leftfield seats opening the bottom of the second and it was 4-4. 

In the third, the Lions moved back in front when centerfielder Shogo Akada homered to center. Fernandez was hit by a pitch. Wada walked. Hirao doubled ointo the rightfield corner and Fernandez and Wada chugged home. After Hirao went to third on a groundout, Nakajima singled to right to knock Wada out of the game and plate Hirao with an 8-4 lead. Makoto Sato induceed an inning ending double play ball to stanch the bleeding. 

The Hawks kept coming, though. Matsunaka walked and went to second on a groundout. One out later, Deguchi singled to left and it was 
8-5 Lions. 

And Daiei pulled even again with Seibu in the eighth, as Deguchi grounded to Hirao, who bobbled it. Takashi Sasakawa walked. Shibahara doubled to rightcenter to score both runners. One out later, Tomoki Hoshino took the ball from Mori and Kawasaki grounded to first baseman Masahide Kaizuka, who let it go through the wickets for another error and it was tied 8-8. 

Seibu, though, still prevailed. In the ninth, Wada lifted a fly ball near the line in right off of Akichika Yamada. Takeshi Tsuji dropped it and Wada was standing on second on what was farcically scored a double. Hirao was fooled on a slider, but got enough bat on it to dunk it into center and Seibu triumped 9-8. 

Hirao now has two career sayonara hits. 

Hawks boss Sadaharu Oh was steaming over Tsuji's miscue. "That wasn't what you would call a professional play," he muttered. 

The eight runs and three homers surrendered by Tsuyoshi Wada tied his personal worsts. 

Nate Minchey started for Lotte and was solid, going eight innings of three run ball on six hits in a no decision. 

Kintetsu got to Minchey in the second for the game's first run, as rightfielder Koichi Isobe singled to right and went to second on a sacrifice before riding Larry Barnes' single to center home for a 1-0 lead. 

Lotte had the bases loaded with two outs in the second, but couldn't get anyone in. 

But in the fourth, Matt Franco parachuted a double to left and, two outs later, catcher Tasuku Hashimoto carved up a slider into the rightfield seats for a 2-1 Lotte advantage. 

Kintetsu, though, leveled it in the fifth when second baseman Eiji Mizuguchi got aboard on an infield hit and Fumitoshi Takano walked. Third baseman Norihiro Nakamura singled back through the middle to plate Mizuguchi to make it 2-2. 

However, Lotte went ahead again in the sixth when Agbayani went midieval on a shuuto and carromed it off of a seat in center to put it at 3-2. 

But in the eighth, Nakamura returned the favor by coldcocking an 85mph fastball out to the same part of the yard as Agbayani's jack to gridlock it at 3-3. 

Masahide Kobyashi set all five hitters he faced down from when he entered with one down in the ninth and Yasuhiko Yabuta then tossed a shutout inning, too after bailing Takashi Kawai out in the top of the 11th. So it went into the bottom half of the inning and Kiyoshi 
Hatsuhiba singled to right. Agbayani walked. Seung-yeop Lee then did something he hasn't in three years, lay down a sac bunt. Hashimoto was intentionally walked to setup a force at every base. Omura flew out and Hatsushiba beat the throw and Lotte's winning ways continue. 

Leave it to Sankei Sports, for my money, the best daily paper for baseball in Japan, to come up with this stat: During Hisashi Iwakuma's nine starts nine victories streak, Kintetsu hit .321 with 16 homers and scored 67 runs (7.4/game). Over his last two times to the 
mound, the lanky righthander's teammates have managed just a .208 average with two homers and seven runs (3.5/game). Furthermore, first baseman Hirotoshi Kitagwa, who had hit an electric .629 in those initial nine Iwakuma starts is zero for his last six in the most recent pair. 

Masaru Yoshizaki, just back up from the minors, permitted five runs, four earned, over 5.1 innings on eight hits and is still trying to get locked in after an injury layoff. 

Nippon Ham third baseman Michihiro Ogasawara sliced and diced a Motoyanagi pitch into the rightfield seats for a first inning 1-0 lead. 

In the third, though, Orix first baseman Jose Ortiz doubled to leftcenter and went to third on a one out groundout. Centerfielder Arihito Muramatsu chopped one out toward second and Muramatsu safely slid into first while Ortiz hustled in to tie it at 1-1. 

Brown then gave Orix their first advantage of the tilt when he thundered a sinker on the outer half of the plate into the rightfield bleachers. One out later, DH Takeshi Yamasaki doubled off the centerfield fence and third baseman Kazuhiko Shiotani singled to right
for the RBI to make it 3-1 Blue Wave. 

Orix would then be given a gift in the sixth. Hidemitsu Saito singled to left and, one out later, leftfielder Yoshitomo Tani doubled to rightcenter to provide the necessary cover for Saito to score. One out later, Shiotani grounded to Ogasawara, who threw wide of first, and
Tani romped home on the error and the Kobe contingent had a 5-1 edge. 

They thought they were merely obtaining some more insurance in the eighth when Saito walked, Tani reached on an error by reliever Tatsuhito Kato, Yamasaki walked, and Shiotani singled to right to show Saito in with a 6-1 lead. 

Outs, though, began to be hard to come by for Motoyanagi and the Orix bullpen in the bottom of the inning. Kuniyuki Kimoto doubled off the leftfield wall. One out later, rightfielder Tomochika Tsuboi singled to center to exploit Kimoto. Hisashi Ogura was summoned from the bullpen. One out later, Ogasawara doubled to rightcenter for an RBI. Fernando Seguignol announced his presence with authority by throttling one into the rightfield bleachers to make it a one run affair at 6-5. Leftfielder Angel Echevarria singled to left. Tatsuo Kato was waved in to face Kazuteru Shimada, who grounded to Ortiz, who misplayed it for an error. Kazuo Yamaguchi was then called on and he struckout catcher Shinji Takahashi to keep what was left of the once considerable Orix lead. 

But Keiichi Hirano singled to center with one out and, one out later, Saito walked. Brown zipped a double to leftcenter for the two RBIs and it was 8-5, a margin that Yamaguchi would need to have, as it turned out. 

Because in the last home ups, Kimoto leadoff with a homer to left to cut it to 8-6. The next three men went down in order and Orix had it in the bag. 

Backup infielder Tadatoki Maeda has been taken off the roster due
to a calf pull.