Yusuke Oyama's two-run flare single brought the Central League-leading Hanshin Tigers from behind in a 4-3 win Sunday over the Yakult Swallows.
With two outs and two on and Hanshin trailing 3-2 at historic Koshien Stadium near Osaka, Oyama hit a little flare. Swallows left fielder Domingo Santana dashed in but was unable to come up with a sliding catch.
Oyama credited the wind off nearby Osaka Bay, a famous feature of Japan's oldest major league stadium.
"I think the sea breeze came to my rescue," Oyama said.
Santana had robbed the Tigers of a two-out, two-run single with a sliding catch in the second that limited the hosts to a run.
Santana doubled in the tying run in the fourth and put the Swallows ahead with an RBI infield single in Yakult's two-run fifth.
Unfortunately for the Swallows, he was unable to keep Oyama's fly from hitting the grass and plating two runs.
Among other games on Sunday, two-time CL MVP Yoshihiro Maru and rookie Shunsuke Sasaki combined to score three runs and drive in five in the Yomiuri Giants' 6-2 win over the DeNA BayStars.
In the Pacific League, Gregory Polanco hit his fifth homer as the Lotte Marines snapped a seven-game losing streak by beating the Rakuten Eagles 10-1. The league-leading SoftBank Hawks recorded their second-straight extra-inning walk-off win over the Seibu Lions, 3-2 in 12 innings.
