D.J. Houlton pitched seven solid innings and Nobuhiko Matsunaka hit a two-run homer as the Softbank Hawks edged the Nippon Ham Fighters 3-2 to move into sole possession of first place in the Pacific League on Sunday. Houlton (6-3) allowed two runs, one earned, and six hits while striking out seven and walking one at Ocean Stadium. Brian Sweeney (2-5) took the loss. It was the first time since April 2008 that Softbank took the sole lead.

In other PL games, Takahiko G.G. Sato drew a bases-loaded walk for the go-ahead run in a four-run eighth inning as Seibu rallied past Rakuten 7-6 at Kleenex Stadium; Shingo Ono carried a shutout into the eighth inning as Lotte beat Orix 4-1. In the Central League, Motonobu Tanishige hit his first homer of the season to help left-hander Yudai Kawai extend his season-opening winning streak to eight decisions as Chunichi beat Yomiuri 5-4 at Nagoya Dome; Aarom Baldiris snapped an 0-for-15 slump with a leadoff homer in the first inning and Yasutomo Kubo threw six effective innings, leading Hanshin over Yakult 4-1 at Koshien Stadium; while at Mazda Stadium, Andy Phillips homered and drove in four runs, Shigenobu Shima also cleared the fence as Hiroshima beat Yokohama 6-4.