CHIBA, Japan (Interstat) — Haru Matsumoto pitched seven strong innings and Tatsuru Yanagimachi delivered a decisive three-run double as the SoftBank Hawks defeated the Chiba Lotte Marines 5-2 on Saturday afternoon at Chiba Marine Stadium.

Matsumoto earned the win, allowing one run on five hits while striking out six. The game was a pitchers’ duel until the seventh, when Yanagimachi cleared the bases with a two-out double off Hayato Miyazaki. Takashi Umino added a two-run homer in the eighth.

Lotte starter Haruya Tanaka was sharp in a no-decision, tossing six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. Kyota Fujiwara had an RBI single in the fifth for the Marines. Kazuki Sugiyama recorded the final out for his third save. Attendance was 27,774. The game took 3 hours, 26 minutes.