OSAKA, Japan (Interstat) — In a tightly contested pitchers’ duel that defied pregame projections, the Hanshin Tigers edged the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 2-0 on Thursday night at a sold-out Osaka Dome, securing a series split in their four-game set.

A crowd of 42,602 watched as Hanshin starter Hidetoshi Ibaragi and Yakult’s Yasunobu Okugawa traded zeroes for three innings before the Tigers broke through in the fourth. The game, which lasted 2 hours and 36 minutes, was called after seven innings due to league rules regarding shortened series.

The most critical sequence of the game unfolded in the bottom of the fourth inning, turning a scoreless stalemate into a decisive lead for the home team. Hanshin right fielder Shota Morishita led off the frame by driving a solo home run to left field off Okugawa, providing the only run the Tigers would ultimately need. The rally continued immediately as Teruaki Sato followed with a double down the left-field line. Yusuke Ohyama then delivered a sharp single to shallow left, scoring Sato to double the advantage to 2-0.

Yakult threatened to answer in the top of the sixth, loading the bases with two outs against Ibaragi on singles by Jose Osuna and Shu Masuda sandwiching a walk to Ryui Itoh. Ibaragi, however, escaped the jam by striking out pinch-hitter Takeshi Miyamoto swinging to preserve the shutout.

Ibaragi earned the win, improving to 1-0. He delivered six dominant innings, scattering five hits and striking out five while walking two. His performance was the cornerstone of the victory, consistently working out of minor trouble. Okugawa was tagged with the loss, falling to 0-1. He pitched five innings, allowing two runs on five hits, striking out six and walking one.

Takuma Kirishiki closed the door for Hanshin in the seventh to record his first save of the season. After allowing a two-out single to Domingo Santana, Kirishiki induced a groundout from Kyo Suzuki to end the game.

The result moved first-place Yakult to 8-3 on the young season, while Hanshin improved to 8-4. The game stood in stark contrast to the offensive explosion in Tuesday’s series opener, a 9-3 Tigers win, and Wednesday’s narrow 3-2 Swallows victory.

Yakult out-hit Hanshin 6-8 but failed to capitalize on its opportunities, going 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranding seven baserunners. Osuna led the Swallows’ offense with two hits. For Hanshin, Morishita’s home run was the key blow in his 2-for-4 night, while Takumu Nakano also collected two hits.

The game’s outcome surprised the statistical models. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a high-scoring affair with a final score of Yakult 8, Hanshin 6. While the same service’s ELO system gave Hanshin a 65.6 percent probability to win, the Tigers covered the pregame spread of -1.5, and the total score of two runs went well under the over/under line of 5.5.

The Swallows now travel to Tokyo to begin a three-game series against the Yomiuri Giants at the Tokyo Dome starting Friday. The Tigers head to Nagoya for a three-game weekend set against the Chunichi Dragons at Vantelin Dome.