Kenta Imamiya broke up a scoreless game and Shota Takeda won a tough pitchers’ duel as the Pacific League-leading Fukuoka Softbank Hawks won their fifth straight, downing the Orix Buffaloes 2-0 on Saturday afternoon.

In the second inng, Imamiya plated Nobuhiro Matsuda with a two-out triple off Buffaloes All-Star Yuki Nishi before a full house at Yafuoku Dome.

The hosts purchased insurance in the eighth, when Lee Dae-ho drew a two-out walk and Matsuda doubled in pinch runner Keizo Kawashima to make it 2-0 off reliever Shohei Tsukahara.

Takeda (8-4) worked seven innings, allowing three hits. He walked four and struck out six. Former New York Met Ryota Igarashi worked the eighth, while Dennis Sarfate pitched the ninth to earn his 24th save. The trio combined to retire the last 15 Buffaloes batters.

Nishi (4-4) surrendered six hits and three walks, while striking out six over seven innings.

Takeda’s start, however, was in jeopardy from the first pitch. After a first-inning leadoff single, the right-hander issued a pair of one-out walks. Takeda missed with his 3-2 pitch by a good margin inside to Yoshio Itoi, who could do little more than laugh when he was called out by umpire Minoru Nakamura.

Takeda then worked his way out of the jam by striking out Yuki Miyazaki.

“I needed the help of the fielders to get through the game,” Takeda said when asked specifically about the first inning. “My pitching was not satisfactory. Next time I want to do better.”

In two of the three other times when Orix managed to get a runner on against him, Takeda’s teammates had his back, turning two double plays and throwing Miyazaki out stealing to end the fourth.

Fighters 6, Lions 4

At Seibu Prince Dome, Shingo Ishikawa’s ninth-inning pinch-hit double tied it 4-4 and Brandon Laird’s two-run double provided the winning margin as Hokkaido Nippon Ham came from behind to beat Seibu, which lost five straight for the first time this season.

Marines 7, Eagles 4

At Sendai’s Kobo Stadium, Chiba Lotte broke a 3-3 tie with Tohoku Rakuten in the sixth on an RBI double by Shota Ishimine, while Shogo Nakamura’s two-run homer capped the four-run inning.

The win saw the Marines move into fourth place ahead of the Eagles.

Rakuten’s Kazuo Matsui went 1-for-5 and needs two more hits to reach 2,000 in his career in Japan.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

BayStars 5, Tigers 2

At Koshien Stadium, Yokohama overturned a 2-0 deficit against Hanshin in the fifth as pinch hitter Masayuki Kuwahara singled in one run, Takayuki Kajitani drove in two more and another scored on error.

The BayStars snapped a four-game losing streak.

Swallows 6, Dragons 5

At Tokyo’s Jingu Stadium, Tetsuto Yamada went 4-for-5 with his CL-leading 22nd homer and an RBI double, while Shingo Kawabata homered and scored two runs as Tokyo Yakult beat Chunichi to win its sixth straight and move into sole possession of first place.

Dragons player-manager Motonobu Tanishige tied Nippon Professional Baseball’s record for games played at 3,017 when he came off the bench to catch in the seventh inning, matching the record set by Hall of Fame catcher Katsuya Nomura.

Giants 3, Carp 2

At Hiroshima’s Mazda Stadium, Hayato Sakamoto hit a two-run homer and reached base four times, while Hisayoshi Chono delivered a sacrifice fly as Yomiuri rookie Hayato Takagi (7-6) went six innings to win for the first time in nearly two months.

Nate Schierholtz’s two solo homers accounted for both of Hiroshima’s hits.