TOKOROZAWA, Japan (Interstat) — Keita Nakagawa broke open a tight game with a three-run homer in the sixth inning, powering the Orix Buffaloes to a 7-3 victory over the Saitama Seibu Lions on Thursday night at Seibu Dome.

The win gave Orix the series victory, taking two of three games from their Pacific League rivals and improving their early-season record to 4-2. The Lions fell to 2-4.

For four innings, the game was a classic pitcher’s duel between Orix’s Hiroya Miyagi and Seibu’s Shinya Sugai, with the Lions holding a slim 1-0 lead. The complexion of the contest changed dramatically in the middle innings, as the Buffaloes’ offense erupted for six runs across the fifth and sixth frames to seize control.

The most important sequence of the game unfolded in the top of the sixth. Already leading 2-1 after a two-run single by Koji Ohshiro in the fifth, the Buffaloes put immediate pressure on Sugai. Taishi Hirooka and Ryoma Nishikawa led off with back-to-back singles. Ryo Ohta then drove in the first run of the inning with a double to right-center, chasing Sugai from the game.

With one out and two runners still in scoring position, Nakagawa stepped in against reliever Ryota Itogawa. The Orix center fielder, who had been hitless in his previous eight at-bats over two games, connected on a towering drive to left field for a three-run homer, extending the Buffaloes’ lead to 6-1.

Nakagawa’s blast, his second of the young season, was the decisive blow. He finished the night 3 for 4 with three RBIs, breaking out of a brief slump in emphatic fashion.

The Lions answered in the bottom half of the inning, as Seiya Watanabe launched a two-out, two-run homer off Miyagi to cut the deficit to 6-3. That was all the offense Seibu could muster, however, as the Orix bullpen slammed the door over the final three innings.

Miyagi earned the win, improving to 1-1. He worked six innings, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out eight. The Orix bullpen trio of Andres Machado, Ren Mukunoki and Soichiro Yamazaki combined for three scoreless innings of one-hit relief, striking out three.

Sugai took the loss, falling to 0-1. He was charged with five runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings. The Lions’ bullpen, aside from Itogawa allowing Nakagawa’s homer, was effective. Masaya Kuroda and others provided scoreless work, but the early damage proved too much to overcome.

Orix added an insurance run in the eighth on an RBI single by Ohta, who joined Nakagawa with a multi-RBI night, driving in two.

The game’s outcome defied the pregame projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a 4-3 Lions victory. However, it aligned with the system’s ELO rating, which gave Orix a 55.6% probability to win. The combined 10 runs went well over the posted over/under line of 6.0.

The announced attendance was 23,796, and the game took 2 hours, 51 minutes to complete.

For Orix, the victory continues a strong start as they head north for a weekend series against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters beginning Friday. The Lions will look to regroup at home against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, also starting Friday. The two clubs are scheduled to meet again in a two-game series in Osaka beginning April 14.