SENDAI, Japan (Interstat) — Ryota Takinaka delivered six and one-third dominant innings and Ryosuke Tatsumi provided the decisive blow with a two-run homer in the eighth, propelling the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles to a 4-0 victory over the Orix Buffaloes on Sunday evening at Kleenex Stadium Miyagi.

A crowd of 24,908 watched as the Golden Eagles (7-6) clinched the three-game series, taking two of three from their Pacific League rivals and moving above .500 for the season. The Buffaloes (7-7) were shut out for the second time in three days, managing only three hits against four Rakuten pitchers.

The game was a tense, scoreless pitchers’ duel through four innings between Rakuten’s Takinaka and Orix’s American import Sean Hjelle. Both right-handers worked efficiently, with Hjelle navigating around early traffic and Takinaka retiring the first seven batters he faced.

The stalemate was broken in the bottom of the fifth. Rakuten left fielder Daisuke Nakashima led off with a double down the right-field line, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on Yuya Ogoh’s sharp single to shallow center, giving the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead. Hjelle limited the damage, stranding a runner in scoring position to end the inning.

Hjelle (0-1) finished with a quality start, allowing one earned run on four hits over six innings, walking two and striking out three. His counterpart, however, was even sharper. Takinaka (1-1) continued his excellent early-season form, scattering just two hits over 6 1/3 scoreless frames. He walked one and struck out three, building on his previous outing against Seibu where he also threw six shutout innings.

Orix threatened briefly in the seventh when Ryo Ohta doubled with one out, but Takinaka and reliever Shoma Fujihira escaped the jam. The Buffaloes’ best chance to equalize came and went in the top of the eighth. Catcher Tomoya Mori, who had two of Orix’s three hits, led off with a single. The next batter, Kotaro Kurebayashi, grounded into a crucial 4-6-3 double play, effectively snuffing out the rally.

The game’s defining moment came immediately after in the bottom of the eighth. With the narrow 1-0 lead still precarious, Rakuten’s Hiroto Kobukata was hit by a pitch from Orix reliever Soichiro Yamazaki. Tatsumi then stepped to the plate and launched a towering two-run home run to left-center field, extending the lead to 3-0 and electrifying the home crowd.

The Golden Eagles were not done. They added another run in the inning on small ball, as Fumiya Kurokawa and Itsuki Murabayashi followed with singles, a groundout advanced the runners, and a second groundout by Hideto Asamura brought Kurokawa home to make it 4-0.

Rakuten’s bullpen sealed the deal with perfection. After Fujihira recorded the final two outs of the seventh, Chiharu Tanaka retired his only batter in the eighth and closer Masaya Nishigaki worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning, securing the shutout.

The result defied pregame projections from Interstat, which had given Orix a 50.3% probability to win and projected a 6-3 Buffaloes victory. The combined four runs also went well under the over/under line of 6.5.

The victory gives Rakuten momentum as they head south for a challenging three-game road series against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks beginning Tuesday. Orix, meanwhile, returns home to Kyocera Dome Osaka to host the Saitama Seibu Lions for a three-game set starting Tuesday, looking to reignite an offense that has scored just four total runs in its last three contests.