Shota Hiranuma hit his first home run of the season to back an eight-inning effort by Tatsuya Imai as the Seibu Lions edged the Rakuten Eagles 1-0 in the Pacific League on Wednesday. The third-place Lions now lead the fourth-place Eagles by 1-1/2 games with just two and three games left for Seibu and Rakuten, respectively, in the regular season in their race for a spot in the Climax Series playoffs. Imai (5-1) held the Eagles to four hits while striking out eight in a 123-pitch outing at Rakuten Seimai Park Miyagi. Hiranuma homered to right in the fifth inning off Takayuki Kishi (8-10), who th...
