The Rakuten Eagles' Daichi Suzuki hits a tie-breaking three-run home run in the seventh inning of a Pacific League game against the Seibu Lions on July 11, 2021, at Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi, northeastern Japan. (Kyodo)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Daichi Suzuki hit a tie-breaking three-run homer in the seventh inning to set the Rakuten Eagles on their way to a 9-3 win over the Seibu Lions in the Pacific League on Sunday.

       With the game tied 3-3, reliever Ken Togame (1-1) allowed Brandon Dixon a double and hit a batter before he was quickly relieved by Shota Takekuma with one out. The left-hander failed to get out of the jam, allowing Suzuki to go deep as the ball landed just inside the right foul pole at Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi.

       Hideto Asamura's RBI single put Rakuten on the board in the first inning but Yuji Kaneko's sacrifice fly tied the game in the third before Hotaka Yamakawa's two-run shot in the fifth gave the visitors a 3-1 lead.

       Rakuten starter Ryota Takinaka left the mound after the inning allowing three runs on four hits and a walk. But Zach Neal of Seibu failed to preserve the lead, surrendering a one-out, two-run double in the sixth to Takero Okajima that tied the game and the right-hander got his hook after the inning, also allowing three runs on six hits and two walks.

       Rakuten's second reliever Tomohito Sakai (2-1) worked a scoreless seventh before Suzuki's decisive blast to earn the win. Ginjiro Sumitani's three-run shot in the eighth put the result beyond doubt.

       At PayPay Dome, Yuki Yanagita had a solo shot in the sixth before slugging another that broke a tie in the eighth as the SoftBank Hawks beat the PL-leading Orix Buffaloes 7-4.

       At Vantelin Dome Nagoya, Keita Sano's ninth-inning RBI single tied the game as the DeNA BayStars overcame a four-run deficit to end the game 5-5 against the Chunichi Dragons in the Central League.

       At Koshien Stadium, Yuki Takahashi (9-3) threw seven shutout innings and Takumi Oshiro plated the only run with a single in the eighth as the Yomiuri Giants beat the CL-leading Hanshin Tigers 1-0.

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