Baseball: Kobukata lifts Eagles to 8th straight victory

Hiroto Kobukata singled in the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning as the Rakuten Eagles beat the Nippon Ham Fighters 3-2 Thursday in the Pacific League to extend their winning streak to eight games. The Fighters lost their seventh consecutive game -- and their sixth straight by one run. With runners on the corners and two outs in the top of the ninth, Kobukata lined a 2-2 fastball from Seigi Tanaka (2-2) to center at Es Con Field Hokkaido. "I was behind in the count, so I just tried to make good contact," Kobukata said of his ninth-inning RBI single. "My team is in a good mood, and I ...