OSAKA, Japan (Interstat) — Hiroto Saiki struck out 16 over eight dominant innings and Teruaki Sato drove in four runs as the Hanshin Tigers defeated the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 9-3 on Tuesday night at Osaka Dome.

Saiki allowed two earned runs on five hits, improving to 2-0. His performance anchored a decisive win before a crowd of 42,610. The Tigers broke open a 1-1 game with a four-run fifth inning, highlighted by a two-run homer from Shota Morishita. Sato added a two-run single in the sixth and a two-run homer in the eighth.

Yakult’s Yasuhiro Ogawa took the loss despite not allowing an earned run over 4 2/3 innings. Kazuya Maruyama hit a two-run homer in the seventh for the Swallows. Hanshin improved to 7-3, while Yakult fell to 7-2. The teams meet again Wednesday.