TOKYO (Interstat) — In a tightly contested pitchers’ duel that defied pregame projections, the Yokohama BayStars rode a dominant start from Katsuki Azuma to a 3-1 victory over the Yomiuri Giants on Friday night at a packed Tokyo Dome.

A crowd of 41,855 watched as Azuma, the BayStars’ left-handed ace, delivered a masterful performance, striking out nine over seven strong innings while allowing just one run on five hits. His command stifled a potent Yomiuri lineup and provided a crucial stabilizing force for a Yokohama team that entered the contest with just one win in its first six games.

The victory improved Yokohama’s record to 2-5, while the Giants fell to 3-4. The game time was 3 hours, 14 minutes.

The contest’s most critical sequence unfolded in the middle innings, transforming a scoreless stalemate into a lead the BayStars would not relinquish. After both Azuma and Yomiuri starter Kazuyuki Takemaru traded zeroes through three, Yokohama broke through with patience and timely hitting in the fourth.

With two outs and nobody on, catcher Yuudai Yamamoto sparked the rally with a double to left-center. Takemaru then lost his command, walking Cooper Hummel and Kouki Kajiwara to load the bases. Takuma Hayashi, the BayStars’ shortstop, delivered the game’s first run with a clutch single to shallow left, scoring Yamamoto.

Yokohama doubled its advantage an inning later, capitalizing on a defensive miscue. Shugo Maki led off the fifth with a walk, and Ryuki Watarai followed with a fly ball to left that was dropped for an error, putting two runners on. After a Keita Sano single loaded the bases, Takemaru recorded a strikeout, bringing Yamamoto to the plate. The catcher again came through, lining a single to left to drive in Maki. Hummel followed with another RBI single to shallow left, plating Watarai and extending the lead to 3-0. That spelled the end for Takemaru, who was charged with three runs, one earned, on five hits over five innings, taking the loss to fall to 1-1.

Azuma, meanwhile, was in complete control. He retired the first eight batters he faced and worked around a two-out single in the first. His most impressive work came with strikeouts, as he fanned Giants hitters looking four times and generated 15 swinging strikes. He faced his only real trouble in the seventh. Yuta Izuguchi and Gakuto Wakabayashi hit back-to-back one-out singles, putting runners on the corners. Yomiuri catcher Yukinori Kishida then drove in the Giants’ lone run with a single to left. Azuma bore down, getting Hayato Sakamoto to fly out and Makoto Kadowaki to ground out to end the threat and his evening at 101 pitches.

The Giants threatened again in the eighth against reliever Sean Reynolds. Pinch-hitter Raito Nakayama led off with a double down the right-field line. Reynolds, however, responded with sheer power, striking out Takumi Ohshiro and Go Matsumoto looking before walking Izuguchi. With the tying run at the plate, Reynolds froze Bobby Dalbec with a called third strike to end the inning, finishing with three strikeouts in his scoreless frame.

Yokohama closer Yasuaki Yamasaki entered for the ninth, seeking his second save. He struck out Wakabayashi swinging before allowing a single to Kishida. A groundout advanced the tying run to second, but Yamasaki induced a game-ending groundout to second from Yoshihiro Maru to seal the 3-1 win.

The outcome contradicted the pregame analytics. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a 5-2 Yomiuri victory, and its ELO system gave the Giants a 50.9% probability to win. Despite being installed as a +1.5 underdog, Yokohama covered the spread with ease. The total of four combined runs went well under the over/under line of 5.5, underscoring the pitchers’ dominance.

For Azuma, the win marked a strong rebound from his first start of the season on March 27, a 3-2 loss to Yakult where he allowed three earned runs over six innings. He improved to 1-1. Yamamoto was the offensive standout for Yokohama, going 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, a run scored and the go-ahead RBI. Kishida led Yomiuri’s offense, also going 2-for-4 with the team’s only RBI.

The two Central League rivals will continue their three-game series at Tokyo Dome on Saturday, April 4. Yokohama will look to build momentum before a six-game homestand next week against Chunichi and Hiroshima. Yomiuri aims to even the series before embarking on a lengthy road trip to Hiroshima and Hanshin.