Scratchin’ one out ...

Lions preserve 6-run lead, scratch 1 off magic number

The Seibu Lions built a six-run lead in two and a half innings on Wednesday. In the end, they hung on by a nail at Skymark Stadium.
Seventh-year hurler Atsushi Okamoto bailed Alex Graman out of a ninth-inning jam by inducing a game-ending double play with two on as Seibu edged Orix 6-5 and shaved its magic number to win the Pacific League title to five.
Graman, returning this year from offseason shoulder surgery, started the ninth in search of his first save of the season. He left after allowing a run and Okamoto surrendered an RBI single before getting Aarom Baldiris on a chopper that went around the horn to end it.
Jose Fernandez pushed his average to .324 with two hits and two RBIs, and Hiroyuki Nakajima had two hits, including a two-run homer, as Seibu won the middle game of a three-game set.
Righty Masamichi Hirano (4-4) went 6.1 innings for the win. He allowed one run on six hits and two walks with three Ks.

HAWKS 9, MARINES 0
Tsuyoshi Wada (16-8) won his second straight start, blanking Lotte on seven hits and a walk over seven innings as SoftBank won in the rain at Chiba Marine Stadium.
Hiroki Kokubo and Hitoshi Tamura had two hits and two RBI each to back Wada, who fanned nine to extend his career-best win total and tie for the PL lead.

FIGHTERS 7, EAGLES 5
Yang Zhong-shou had two hits and three RBIs and rookie Shota Ono added three hits and two RBIs as Nippon Ham downed Rakuten at Sapporo Dome.
Nippon Ham is just one game out of the third final PLCS playoff spot.

CENTRAL LEAGUE
GIANTS 5, SWALLOWS 2
Shinnosuke Abe’s RBI single broke a scoreless tie in the sixth, and Edgar Gonzalez followed with a bases-clearing double as Yomiuri topped Yakult for the second straight night at Jingu Stadium.
Yomiuri moved past Hanshin into sole possession of second place, 2.5 games behind Chunichi.

DRAGONS 6, CARP 5
Reserve outfielder Masaaki Koike’s RBIs single in the eighth inning broke a 5-5 tie, and Takuya Asao (11-3) worked 1.1 scoreless innings as Chunichi won its sixth straight decision, its 11th consecutive over Hiroshima.
Tony Blanco hit a three-run homer, his 19th, and had an RBI single to power the Dragons, who are a season-best 19 games over .500.

BAYSTARS 7, TIGERS 5
Third-year left-hander Kenjiro Tanaka (1-0) took advantage of seven early runs to pick up his first pro win in his debut as a starter with six-plus innings as Yokohama held off visiting Hanshin.
Craig Brazell hit his CL-best 44rd longball for he slumping Tigers, who are 1-5-1 since Sept. 8.