Showing some fight ...

Nippon Ham legitimate

Back in the first two months of the season, the Nippon Ham Fighters looked out on their feet.
The boys from Hokkaido now look like real contenders for a Pacific League playoff spot.
Kensuke Tanaka’s clutch two-run single in the sixth inning broke up a tie score and gave the Fighters a 4-2 victory over the Rakuten Eagles at The Kleenex Box in Friday's only game.
The win put the defending PL champion Fighters alone in the third and final PLCS playoff spot, and gave them a legitimate shot at the postseason with three games left on their schedule.
They are a half-game better than the Lotte Marines, but face the first-place SoftBank Hawks on Saturday and the second-place Seibu Lions on Sunday. Both of those teams are trying to win the PL title, with the Hawks a half-game up.
Atsunori Inaba had a two-run single in the third to put the Fighters in the lead as Nippon Ham tied a season-best by moving six games over .500. It’s their first time being as high as third place this season.
Right-hander Ryo Sakakibara (10-1) got the win with five innings in relief of Masao Kida, who was gone after 1.2 innings.
Ace Yu Darvish faces SoftBank’s Toshiya Sugiuchi Saturday. The Hawks’ magic number to win the PL is two.