YOKOHAMA, Japan (Interstat) — Kojiro Yoshimura struck out seven over 5 1/3 innings as the Tokyo Yakult Swallows opened their season with a 3-2 victory over the Yokohama BayStars on Friday night.

Shugo Maki gave Yokohama an early lead with a first-inning homer, but Yakult’s Ryui Itoh answered with a two-run shot in the second. Domingo Santana added a solo homer in the fifth for Yakult. Yoshimura allowed two runs on five hits for the win. Jose Quijada earned the save with a perfect ninth, striking out two. A crowd of 33,813 at Yokohama Stadium watched the game, which lasted 3 hours, 18 minutes. The loss went to Yokohama starter Katsuki Azuma, who also fanned seven but yielded three runs over six innings.