Sachiya Yamasaki and four relievers combined on a one-hit shutout to move the Orix Buffaloes to within one win of their franchise's first Japan Series title in 26 years with a 3-0 Game 6 win Saturday over the Yakult Swallows.
The win at Yakult's Jingu Stadium was the Pacific League champs' third straight after losing Games 1 and 3 and tying Game 2 against the Central League champs, who beat them in six games last year.
Orix can clinch in Tokyo in Sunday's Game 7, when a tie or a Swallows win will force a Game 8 here on Monday.
Yamasaki worked five innings. He allowed a leadoff hit in the first inning, and thanks to a big play from center fielder Keita Nakagawa, just three more runners, all on walks.
Yakult starter Yasuhiro Ogawa was nearly as good. The Game 1 winner gave up four singles, two walks, one intentional, and a hit batsman over six innings.
Ogawa also had the Swallows' best at-bat against Yamasaki, a 10-pitch third-inning walk, which went for naught thanks to two good catches in center by Nakagawa.
The Buffaloes broke the scoreless deadlock in the sixth. Ryo Ota singled for the second time and was sacrificed to second. With two outs, Orix's Game 5 hero, Masataka Yoshida, was walked intentionally.
Yutaro Sugimoto, who singled in the only run in Orix's 1-0 Game 4 victory, again broke the ice with a two-out RBI single.
"It was another tough game, where runs were hard to come by," Orix manager Satoshi Nakajima said.
"I figured they were going to walk Yoshida, so I was praying one of the batters coming up after him would get a hit, because otherwise we wouldn't win, and he (Sugimoto) did."
With the lead in hand, Yuki Udagawa, Yoshihisa Hirano and Soichiro Yamazaki each struck out two in a scoreless inning.
Ogawa worked six innings, and the game remained 1-0 until the ninth. Closer Scott McGough, whose throwing error on Thursday contributed to three ninth-inning runs, made another bad throw, leading to two unearned runs.
With a three-run lead, Jacob Waguespack worked a 1-2-3 ninth against the heart of Yakult's order to earn his second save of the series.
Swallows cleanup hitter Munetaka Murakami, who this year became Japan's youngest Triple Crown-winning hitter, drew two of Yakult's five walks, but is now hitless in the last three games.
Yamasaki started in place of Orix ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The winner of the Sawamura Award as Japan's most impressive starting pitcher for the second straight year, left Game 1 due to discomfort in his left oblique muscles.
Hiroya Miyagi is slated to start against Yakult's Cy Sneed in Game 7.
Related coverage:
Baseball: Yoshida blasts Buffaloes back into Japan Series tie
Baseball: Sugimoto drives in only run as Buffaloes silence Swallows
Baseball: Yamada blast sparks Swallows to one-sided Game 3 win
