TOKYO -- Kintetsu outfielder Tuffy Rhodes connected for his 51st and 52nd homers of the season Saturday, but it wasn't enough as the Buffaloes dropped a 9-8 decision to the Pacific League-leading Daiei Hawks at Osaka Dome.

Rhodes, formerly of the Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, belted a towering two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning to give Kintetsu a 5-4 lead and then added another two-run blast in the bottom of the ninth off Daiei closer Rodney Pedraza to pull the Buffaloes to within two runs.

Kintetsu third baseman Norihiro Nakamura made it 9-8 with a solo homer off Pedraza, who then retired Yuji Yoshioka on a called third strike for the third out and his 33rd save of the season.

With 16 games to go, Rhodes needs just four more homers to break the Japanese record of 55 set in 1964 by former Yomiuri Giant slugger Sadaharu Oh, who now manages the Hawks.

Rhodes, who hit three homers for the Cubs on Opening Day in 1994 -- all against Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets -- also tied the Pacific League record for the most homers in one season set by Katsuya Nomura in 1963 and equaled by Hiromitsu Ochiai in 1986.

Tadahito Iguchi hit a two-run homer in the top of the seventh as Daiei rallied for three runs and the Hawks added single runs in the final two frames to hand the Buffaloes their fifth straight loss.

With the victory, the Hawks opened up a one-game lead over the Seibu Lions in the standings while the Buffaloes fell two games off the pace.

In other Pacific League games, George Arias, formerly of the San Diego Padres, belted a two-run homer in the top of the fourth inning at Seibu Dome to lead the Orix BlueWave to a 4-0 victory over the Seibu Lions.

South Korean hurler Koo Dae-sung (4-9) tossed a one-hitter while fanning seven over eight scoreless innings and Masanobu Okubo retired the side in the ninth.

In Chiba, Kazuya Fukuura drove in a pair of runs to lead the Lotte Marines to a 3-2 victory over the Nippon Ham Fighters.

Shingo Ono (10-7) gave up five hits and fanned five over six scoreless inning to pick up the win.