CHIBA, Japan (Interstat) — Kota Tatsu delivered a masterful eight-inning performance, and the Nippon-Ham Fighters capitalized on timely hitting to defeat the Chiba Lotte Marines 5-1 on Tuesday night at Chiba Marine Stadium.

The victory, played before a crowd of 25,841 in 3 hours and 6 minutes, improved the Fighters to 8-7 on the season, while the struggling Marines fell to 5-11.

Tatsu, named the top star for Nippon-Ham, was the story of the evening. The right-hander dominated the Lotte lineup, allowing just one run on five hits over eight strong innings. He struck out seven and walked none, efficiently stifling any potential rallies. His only mistake was a solo home run to Ryusei Terachi in the second inning. This outing marked a significant rebound from his previous start on April 4 against Orix, where he allowed nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.

The Fighters provided Tatsu with early support against Lotte starter Andre Jackson. In the first inning, Tatsuki Mizuno and Kotaro Kiyomiya drew walks, and Yuya Gunji followed with an RBI single to shallow center to give Nippon-Ham a quick 1-0 lead.

Terachi’s homer in the bottom of the second briefly tied the game, but Tatsu quickly reasserted control. The most important sequence of the game came in the top of the fourth inning, which broke the tie for good. With two outs and the bases loaded, shortstop Tatsuki Mizuno delivered the key blow, lacing a two-run double down the right-field line to put the Fighters ahead 3-1. That hit accounted for Mizuno’s only knock in four at-bats but drove in two crucial runs.

Jackson, who took the loss to fall to 1-2, pitched seven innings for Lotte, surrendering four runs on six hits. He struck out eight but was hurt by the two-out hit to Mizuno and a later solo home run.

That homer came off the bat of Yua Tamiya in the sixth inning, a solo shot to right field that extended the Nippon-Ham lead to 4-1 and chased Jackson from the game.

The Fighters added an insurance run in the ninth against reliever Hayato Miyazaki without the benefit of a hit, using a hit-by-pitch, a sacrifice bunt, and a productive groundout.

While Lotte managed six hits, matching Nippon-Ham’s total, they could not solve Tatsu. The Marines put two runners on with one out in the eighth inning against the starter, but Tatsu induced a popout and a strikeout to end the threat. Their best chance came in the ninth against reliever Taisei Yanagawa, who loaded the bases with one out. However, Yanagawa got Ryusei Miyazaki to pop out and Misho Nishikawa to fly out to left, sealing the 5-1 victory.

Nishikawa was a bright spot for Lotte, going 2 for 5, but the team went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight baserunners.

The win continued a positive trend for Nippon-Ham against Lotte this season, having taken three of the four previous meetings, including a 7-1 victory on April 2. The loss extended a difficult stretch for the Marines, who have now dropped eight of their last eleven games.

The game’s outcome aligned with the projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a final score of 5-1 for the Fighters. Their ELO system had given Nippon-Ham a 62.7% probability to win. The Fighters covered the +1.5 spread as the pregame favorite, and the total score of six runs went under the over/under line of 6.5.

The two teams will meet again Wednesday evening at Chiba Marine Stadium to continue their three-game series.