Tokyo ? Alex Cabrera hit his 53rd home run Friday, leaving him just two shy of tying the Japanese single-season record.

Cabrera, formerly of the Arizona Diamondbacks, homered in the ninth-inning of the Seibu Lions’ 6-1 loss to the Chiba Lotte Marines. Seibu has 15 games remaining.

The record of 55 homers was set in 1965 by Sadaharu Oh and tied last season by Kintetsu Buffaloes slugger Tuffy Rhodes.

Cabrera hit five homers in 31 games for the Diamondbacks in 2000, his only season in the major leagues.