HIROSHIMA, Japan (Interstat) — Masato Morishita delivered a commanding performance on the mound and Minoru Ohmori provided the decisive blow with a two-run homer as the Hiroshima Carp defeated the Yomiuri Giants 5-2 on Tuesday night at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium.

A crowd of 22,556 watched the Carp improve to 5-4, while the Giants fell to an even 5-5. The result defied pregame projections from Interstat, which had given Yomiuri a 55.3% probability to win and projected a 4-3 Giants victory.

The game’s most important sequence unfolded in the middle innings, transforming a pitcher’s duel into a comfortable Hiroshima lead. After three scoreless frames from both starters, the Carp broke through in the fourth against Yomiuri right-hander Forrest Whitley. With two outs and a runner on first following a walk to Kaito Kozono, left fielder Sandro Fabian connected on a two-run homer to left field, giving Hiroshima a 2-0 advantage.

Hiroshima doubled its lead an inning later, again with two outs. Morishita, the pitcher, helped his own cause by drawing a walk. Center fielder Minoru Ohmori then stepped up and launched a two-run shot to right field, extending the lead to 4-0. That blast proved to be the game-winning hit, capitalizing on Whitley’s lone significant mistake after the Fabian homer.

Whitley (0-1) took the loss, working six innings and allowing four runs on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts. The two home runs accounted for all his earned runs.

Morishita (1-1), in contrast, was brilliant, earning the win with 6 1/3 strong innings. He surrendered two runs on six hits, walking three and striking out four. He effectively neutralized the Yomiuri offense, which grounded into two double plays in the first two innings, squelching early opportunities.

The Giants finally cracked Morishita in the seventh. Trailing 5-0 after Hiroshima added an unearned run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Elehuris Montero, Yomiuri mounted a rally. Takumi Ohshiro singled and Shunsuke Sasaki doubled, putting runners at second and third. Riku Masuda and Raito Nakayama followed with consecutive RBI singles to left, cutting the deficit to 5-2 and chasing Morishita from the game.

The Carp bullpen efficiently extinguished the threat. Taylor Hearn entered and got Go Matsumoto to fly out. Daisuke Moriura then took over and struck out Shunsuke Urata to end the inning, stranding two runners.

Hiroshima’s relief corps sealed the victory from there. Moriura worked a scoreless eighth, and closer Shota Nakazaki pitched a perfect ninth, striking out one, to secure his first save of the season.

Yomiuri out-hit Hiroshima 7-5 but went 2 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Nakayama finished 1 for 3 with an RBI for the Giants.

For Hiroshima, Ohmori’s two-run homer highlighted his 2-for-4 night. Fabian also drove in two with his fourth-inning blast.

The two Central League rivals continue their series Wednesday and Thursday in Hiroshima before both clubs embark on different weekend series. Yomiuri will host the Tokyo Yakult Swallows for three games starting Friday, while Hiroshima travels to face the Yokohama BayStars for a three-game set.