Hungry for more …

Okawari-kun goes off for career-high 6 RBIs

The man they call “Mr. Second Helping” (Okawari-kun) ate up the Rakuten Eagles on Thursday.

The Seibu Lions slugger Takeya Nakamura unloaded for his Japan-leading 34th homer, doubled twice and drove in a career-high-tying six runs in a 9-3 win at The Kleenex Box.

Ace Hideaki Wakui (6-10) was the beneficiary of Nakamura’s big night. The righty held Rakuten to one run by working around 10 hits and a walk, fanning six and getting 10 groundouts to stop a personal four-game personal skid. It was his first win since July 9.

Not much has gone right for the Pacific League’s cellar-dwelling Lions, but Nakamura awoke from his recent slumber with his first RBIs in four games.

He doubled in his first at-bat to score two, blasted a two-run shot in the seventh and split the gap with two on in the ninth to cap his big night.

FIGHTERS 8, MARINES 2

Sho Nakata had three hits, including a two-run double in a four-run sixth, and drove in five to help carry Nippon Ham past Lotte at The Q.

The game was marred when Marines hurler Yoshihiro Ito had to be carried off the field by teammates after Yang Zhong-sho’s broken bat hit him in the left leg in the seventh inning. The right-hander never saw the bat coming and blood was seeping through his uniform just below the knee.

The Fighters moved to within three games of the PL-leading Hawks with the victory.

BUFFALOES 2, HAWKS 1

Hikaru Ito helped Orix take advantage of shoddy SoftBank defense with an RBI double in the seventh that proved to be the difference in a win at FYJ Dome.

Hawks catcher Katsuki Yamasaki failed to catch a bounced third strike to Hisao Arakane and airmailed the ball into the stands putting the runner at second.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

SWALLOWS 4, CARP 2

Kazuhiro Hatakeyama’s first-inning three-run homer erased a one-run deficit and five hurlers held Hiroshima to two runs as Yakult snapped a five-game skid with a win at Koshien.

Norichika Aoki also knocked in a run in the second inning with a groundout and Kenichi Matsuoka’s two scoreless innings earned him the victory, helping him improve to 1-1.

TIGERS 3, DRAGONS 3

Chunichi closer Hitoki Iwase blew the chance for his 300th career save, but escaped a one-out, two-on jam in the ninth as the Dragons played to a nine-inning tie with visiting Hanshin.