CHIBA, Japan (Interstat) — A pitchers’ duel for six innings gave way to a decisive offensive outburst by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, who scored five runs over the final two frames to defeat the Chiba Lotte Marines 5-2 on Saturday afternoon and evening at a sold-out Chiba Marine Stadium.

A crowd of 27,774 watched as the Hawks (6-2) avenged a one-run loss to the Marines (4-4) from the previous night, relying on a stellar start from Haru Matsumoto and a clutch hit from Tatsuru Yanagimachi to seize control of the series.

For the first six innings, the game was a tense, scoreless affair dominated by the starting pitchers. Lotte’s Haruya Tanaka was brilliant, scattering three hits over six shutout innings while striking out eight and walking two. He worked out of his only significant jam in the third, stranding runners at the corners.

He was matched nearly pitch-for-pitch by SoftBank’s Matsumoto, who delivered seven strong innings to earn the win and improve to 2-0. The right-hander allowed one run on five hits, striking out six and walking one. His only blemish came in the bottom of the fifth, when Lotte shortstop Atsuki Tomosugi led off with a double and later scored on a two-out single by Kyota Fujiwara to give the Marines a 1-0 lead.

That slim advantage held until the top of the seventh, when the Hawks’ offense finally broke through against the Lotte bullpen. Reliever Shuta Takano, who took the loss to fall to 0-1, walked Kenta Imamiya to start the inning. A sacrifice bunt and an infield single loaded the bases with one out. After a strikeout, Yanagimachi stepped to the plate with two outs and cleared the bases with a ringing double to right-center field, plating three runs and flipping the game to give SoftBank a 3-1 lead.

The most important part of the game was Yanagimachi’s double. With the bases loaded, two outs, and his team trailing by a run in the seventh inning, he transformed the game’s narrative with one swing. His hit not only erased Lotte’s hard-earned lead but also provided the Hawks with a decisive cushion, shifting all momentum firmly to the visiting side and ultimately providing the winning runs.

SoftBank added insurance in the eighth against reliever Hayato Miyazaki. Taisei Makihara led off with a double, and two outs later, catcher Takashi Umino launched a two-run homer to left-center, extending the Hawks’ lead to 5-1.

Lotte mounted a threat in the bottom of the eighth, loading the bases with two outs against relievers Hikaru Kimura and Darwinzon Hernandez, but Hernandez struck out Ryusei Ogawa to end the inning. The Marines added a final run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly after Kazuki Sugiyama entered with the bases loaded and two outs. Sugiyama got Koki Yamaguchi to fly out to center to secure the 5-2 victory and earn his third save of the season.

Yanagimachi finished 2 for 4 with three RBIs to lead the Hawks’ seven-hit attack. Umino’s home run accounted for the other two RBIs. Tomosugi was a bright spot for Lotte, going 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored.

The game time was 3 hours, 26 minutes. The result moved SoftBank to a 6-2 record across all competitions, while Lotte evened its mark at 4-4. The teams conclude their three-game series on Sunday at Chiba Marine Stadium.

The final score defied several pregame projections. Interstat’s game simulator had projected an 8-3 SoftBank victory, and its ELO system gave the Hawks a 67.30% probability to win. However, Lotte had been installed as a pregame betting favorite with a spread of +1.5. The combined total of seven runs went under the over/under line of 7.0.

Matsumoto’s performance continued an excellent start to his season, following a win on March 28 against the Nippon-Ham Fighters where he went six innings, allowing two runs and striking out eight.

The Hawks will look to take the series Sunday before returning to Fukuoka for a three-game set against the Saitama Seibu Lions starting Tuesday. The Marines embark on a six-game road trip following Sunday’s finale, starting with three games against the Orix Buffaloes in Osaka on Tuesday.