Hayato Terahara allowed a run in seven innings and drove in two runs to lead the Pacific League’s Fukuoka Softbank Hawks to a 5-2 interleague victory on Sunday and a series sweep of the Yomiuri Giants.

In the last of three games between defending league champions and current leaders, Terahara (3-0) allowed a single and a pinch-hit home run, while walking one and striking out four. With the Hawks leading 2-0 on Tomoki Takata’s two-run home run in the fourth, Terahara’s two-out bases-loaded single in the sixth off rookie Hayato Takagi (6-3) iced the game.

Takata had never homered at any level since turning pro, while Terahara hadn’t had a hit in two seasons or driven in a run since 2010, when he played for the Central League’s BayStars.

Takagi allowed four runs in six innings. The right-hander allowed eight hits and an uncharacteristic four walks, while striking out five. Hisayoshi Chono batted for the pitcher in the sixth and hit his fifth home run of the season.

Lee Dae-ho, the PL’s player of the month for May, continued his torrid hitting, going 2-for-4 with a seventh-inning single that drove in Softbank’s fifth run.

The Giants got a consolation run in the ninth, when cleanup hitter Hayato Sakamoto went deep to left off closer Dennis Sarfate for his fifth homer.

Dragons 4, Buffaloes 3

At Nagoya Dome, it was the Chunichi veterans to the rescue as Kazuhiro Wada moved to within five hits of 2,000 for his career with a two-run homer and a single against Orix.

Michihiro Ogasawara tied it in the eighth with a sacrifice fly for the Dragons, who then scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball by Buffaloes catcher Hikaru Ito.

Carp 3, Eagles 1

At Hiroshima’s Mazda Stadium, Brad Eldred, who led the CL in home runs last season, broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth with his fourth of the season, a two-run shot to lift Hiroshima past Tohoku Rakuten behind right-hander Yuya Fukui (5-1), who worked seven innings.

Lions 9, BayStars 3

At Yokohama Stadium, Takeya Nakamura struck his 18th home run of the season, a two-run blast off Yokohama’s Kazuki Mishima (4-3) in a four-run fourth.

Seibu’s Kuo Chun-lin (3-0) allowed just a run in six frames to claim his first win since April 5.

Swallows 8, Marines 4

At Tokyo’s Jingu Stadium, Tetsuto Yamada opened the scoring with a solo homer before tying it 3-3 with another in the seventh for Tokyo Yakult, and Mitch Dening’s grand slam off Carlos Rosa (1-3) in the same inning to put the game beyond Chiba Lotte’s reach.

Tigers 4, Fighters 1

At Koshien Stadium, Matt Murton hit an RBI single off Hokkaido Nippon Ham’s Mitsuo Yoshikawa (5-3) to tie it 1-1 in the fifth, and doubled in another in the seventh to give Hanshin a three-run cushion.

Atsushi Nomi (4-6) allowed a run in six innings as the Tigers stretched their winning streak to four.