OSAKA, Japan (Interstat) — In a tense Central League clash that defied pregame projections, the Yomiuri Giants edged the Hanshin Tigers 4-3 on Tuesday night, riding a stellar start from Takahiro Norimoto and a late insurance home run from Takumi Ohshiro to snap a two-game skid.

A crowd of 42,603 at Osaka Dome watched as the Giants, installed as underdogs by sportsbooks and statistical models, handed the first-place Tigers just their fifth loss of the season. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a 7-4 Hanshin victory, and its ELO system gave the Tigers a 64.7 percent probability to win. Instead, Yomiuri improved to 8-7, while Hanshin fell to 11-5.

The most critical phase of the game was the seventh inning, where Hanshin’s explosive rally fell just short of overtaking Yomiuri’s early lead. The Giants had been stymied after scoring two runs in the second inning, and the Tigers finally broke through against the Yomiuri bullpen. Teruaki Sato led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, and Yusuke Ohyama followed with a single. After a strikeout, Ukyo Maegawa singled to right to plate Sato, cutting the deficit to 2-1. A stolen base put runners on second and third with one out. Reliever Eito Tanaka recorded a crucial strikeout of Seishiro Sakamoto for the second out, but pinch-hitter Nozomu Takatera delivered a dramatic two-run single to shallow center, scoring Ohyama and Maegawa to give Hanshin its first lead at 3-2. The Osaka Dome erupted, but the advantage was fleeting.

The momentum shifted back decisively in the top of the eighth. With two outs and facing reliever Dauri Moreta, Yomiuri catcher Takumi Ohshiro crushed a solo home run to right-center field, tying the game 3-3. Ohshiro finished the night 3 for 4 with two RBIs.

Yomiuri wasn’t done. In the ninth, facing losing pitcher Suguru Iwazaki, Hayato Sakamoto singled with one out. A sacrifice bunt moved him to second, and Go Matsumoto delivered a clutch two-out single to shallow left, scoring Sakamoto with what proved to be the winning run. Matsumoto was then caught stealing to end the inning, but the damage was done.

The late offensive heroics were made possible by the brilliant starting pitching of Norimoto, who was named the top star. The right-hander dominated the potent Tigers lineup for six innings, allowing just two hits and no runs while striking out three. He faced the minimum through three innings and worked out of a minor two-out jam in the second. His performance was a stark turnaround from his last start, a 2-1 complete-game loss at Chunichi on April 2 where he allowed two earned runs over seven innings.

Hanshin starter Hiroto Saiki was nearly as effective, limiting Yomiuri to one earned run on seven hits over six innings while striking out eight. He worked around traffic, stranding Giants in scoring position in the second, fourth, and fifth innings. Yomiuri’s two-run second inning was aided by a fielding error on what should have been the first out. Bobby Dalbec reached on the miscue, Trey Cabbage singled, and Ohshiro and Riku Masuda followed with consecutive run-scoring hits.

After Norimoto departed, the game turned into a bullpen duel with dramatic swings. Taisei Ota, who pitched a perfect eighth inning for Yomiuri, earned the win to move to 1-0. Iwazaki took the loss, falling to 0-1 after allowing two hits and the decisive run in the ninth. For Hanshin, Atsuki Yuasa fired a perfect seventh with two strikeouts.

In the bottom of the ninth, Yomiuri closer Raidel Martinez entered to protect the one-run lead. He got a groundout, allowed a single to Ryuhei Obata, then struck out Torai Fushimi. The game ended when Obata was caught stealing second base for the final out, Martinez’s fourth save of the season.

The victory gives Yomiuri a measure of redemption after dropping two of three to the Tigers at the end of March, including a 12-6 defeat. The two teams continue their series at Osaka Dome on Wednesday and Thursday. Yomiuri then travels to face the Tokyo Yakult Swallows for a three-game set starting Friday. Hanshin will host the Chunichi Dragons for three games beginning Friday after concluding the series with the Giants.