Baseball: Nakamura birthday bash lifts Lotte’s Sasaki to victory

The Pacific League-leading Lotte Marines will head into interleague play on a winning note after Shogo Nakamura homered on his 31st birthday to back six innings from ace Roki Sasaki in a 9-5 victory Sunday over the SoftBank Hawks.

The Marines, looking to win their first PL pennant since 2005, sent Sasaki (4-0) to PayPay Dome’s mound with a 2-0 lead after Nakamura went deep with his third home run, off Koya Fujii (4-3).

Sasaki, pitching for the first time since raising a blister on his pitching hand against the Hawks on May 5, allowed two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out nine.

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