TOKYO (Interstat) — Taichi Yamano delivered another dominant performance on the mound, and Domingo Santana provided a critical insurance home run as the Tokyo Yakult Swallows edged the Yomiuri Giants 3-2 on Saturday night at Tokyo Dome, avenging a narrow loss from the previous evening.

A crowd of 41,901 watched the Swallows seize control immediately against Giants starter Bryan Mata and then rely on Yamano’s arm to secure the victory, which improved Yakult’s record to 9-4. Yomiuri fell to 7-6.

The most important part of the game unfolded in the top of the first inning, where the Swallows set the tone for the entire evening. Leadoff hitter Hideki Nagaoka worked a walk, and Santana followed by lacing a double down the left-field line. Catcher Kyo Suzuki then delivered the decisive early blow, driving a triple down the right-field line to clear the bases and give Yakult a 2-0 lead before an out was recorded. The swift offensive strike placed immediate pressure on Mata and the Giants, a deficit Yomiuri would spend the rest of the game trying to overcome.

Yamano, Yakult’s top star, made that early lead stand up. The winning pitcher was in command through seven strong innings, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out seven. He improved to 3-0 on the season. Yomiuri’s only damage against him came via solo home runs. Catcher Shinnosuke Yamase got the Giants on the board with a leadoff homer to left field in the third inning.

The Swallows regained their two-run cushion in the seventh. With one out, Santana stepped in against reliever Ryuji Kitaura and launched a solo home run to left-center field, making it 3-1. The blast proved pivotal moments later when Yomiuri slugger Hayato Sakamoto answered with a two-out, solo homer of his own to center field in the bottom of the seventh, pulling the Giants back within a run at 3-2. Yamano limited the further damage, however, getting Yamase to ground out to end the inning after a subsequent single.

Yakult’s bullpen sealed the win with two perfect frames. Tomoya Hoshi worked a scoreless eighth, and closer Jose Quijada overpowered the Giants in the ninth, striking out two in a 1-2-3 inning to earn his fifth save of the season.

Mata took the loss for Yomiuri, falling to 0-1. He lasted five innings, surrendering two runs on six hits and striking out six. The Giants’ relievers—Kitaura, Ren Tawa and Kota Nakagawa—combined for four innings of scoreless, one-hit relief, but the early deficit was too much to overcome.

The game defied several pregame projections. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a higher-scoring affair with a final of 7-4 in favor of Yakult, while its ELO system gave Yomiuri a 56.3% probability to win. The Swallows had been installed as a 1.5-run favorite, but the total combined score of five runs fell well under the over/under line of 5.5.

The victory allowed Yakult to bounce back after a 3-2 loss to these same Giants on Friday. The two Central League rivals will conclude their three-game series on Sunday at Tokyo Dome before meeting again for a three-game set at Yakult’s Jingu Stadium next weekend.

For Yomiuri, the loss snapped a brief two-game winning streak. The Giants will look to take the series finale before embarking on a road trip to face the Hanshin Tigers.