OSAKA, Japan (Interstat) — Anderson Espinoza pitched seven strong innings and Bob Seymour delivered a two-run home run in the seventh as the Orix Buffaloes rallied past the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 3-2 on Friday night at Osaka Dome.

The victory before 28,715 fans lifted Orix to 14-9 on the season while Nippon-Ham dropped to 11-13. The game lasted 2 hours 39 minutes.

Hiromi Itoh took the loss despite a dominant outing for the Fighters, allowing three runs on seven hits over eight innings with seven strikeouts. Itoh fell to 2-2 on the season after a complete-game effort that saw him retire the side in order in the first, third, fifth and sixth innings, but a three-run seventh inning broke the deadlock.

Espinoza improved to 4-0, scattering three hits and one earned run while striking out seven over seven innings. Andres Machado earned his fifth save of the season, working a rocky ninth inning in which he allowed two hits and one run but held on for the win.

The game was a pitchers’ duel through six innings. Nippon-Ham struck first in the top of the first inning. Kotaro Kiyomiya walked with two outs and stole second base. Yuya Gunji followed with a single to shallow center that scored Kiyomiya for a 1-0 lead.

The Fighters squandered a chance to extend their lead in the second inning when Yua Tamiya and Taiki Narama singled to put runners on first and third with no outs. But Tatsuki Mizuno popped out to the catcher, Daiki Asama struck out swinging and Yuki Nomura struck out swinging to end the threat.

Itoh retired 11 of the first 12 Orix batters he faced. The lone Buffaloes baserunner in the first four innings came in the second when Tomoya Mori singled with two outs but was caught stealing second. Haruto Watanabe singled in the fourth and stole second, but Itoh struck out Yuma Mune and Ryoma Nishikawa to strand him.

Orix finally broke through in the seventh inning. Ryoma Nishikawa led off with a double down the right-field line. Ryo Ohta followed with a double to center, scoring Nishikawa to tie the game 1-1. Keita Nakagawa grounded out to the pitcher and Tomoya Mori flied out to left, leaving Ohta at second with two outs. Seymour then crushed a home run to right field, scoring Ohta and himself to put Orix ahead 3-1.

It was the decisive blow. Itoh had allowed just two hits through six innings before the seventh-inning outburst.

Nippon-Ham fought back in the ninth. Chusei Mannami led off with a double down the left line. Kotaro Kiyomiya grounded out to third, moving Mannami to third. Gunji then grounded out to third, scoring Mannami to cut the deficit to 3-2. Franmil Reyes singled to shallow center and Kota Yazawa stole second, but Yua Tamiya grounded out to shortstop to end the game.

The contest featured a stark contrast in offensive production. The Fighters managed only five hits in the game, with Gunji driving in both runs. Mannami had a double in the ninth. Orix collected seven hits, led by Watanabe who went 2 for 4 with two stolen bases. Nishikawa was 1 for 4 with a double, Ohta was 1 for 3 with a double and an RBI, and Seymour finished 1 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs.

Both starting pitchers were efficient. Itoh threw 106 pitches, striking out seven and walking none. Espinoza threw 98 pitches, striking out seven and walking two. Ren Mukunoki pitched a scoreless eighth inning for Orix, allowing no hits and striking out one.

The game was the first of a three-game series between the Pacific League rivals. Nippon-Ham had taken the previous three meetings this season, all in Sapporo in early April, outscoring Orix 26-8 in that sweep. The Buffaloes had won four of their last five coming into Friday, including a 4-1 victory at Chiba Lotte on Wednesday. The Fighters were coming off a 3-2 loss at home to Tohoku Rakuten on Thursday, their second loss in three games.

For Nippon-Ham, the game marked another tight defeat for a team that has struggled in close contests. The Fighters fell to 2-4 in games decided by two runs or fewer. Itoh’s performance was his second consecutive quality start; he had won his previous outing against Seibu on April 18, allowing two runs over six innings in a 5-3 victory. Prior to that, he had been roughed up by SoftBank on April 11, surrendering six runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Espinoza continued his stellar start to the season. The 27-year-old right-hander lowered his earned-run average to 1.80 and has not lost a decision in four starts. He has struck out 32 batters in 25 innings.

The game featured several defensive gems. Nippon-Ham third baseman Gunji made a solid play on a Seymour groundout in the third. Orix shortstop Kotaro Kurebayashi made a clean stop on a Nomura groundout in the first, and first baseman Ohta handled several routine plays.

The attendance of 28,715 was the largest for a Buffaloes home game this season. Osaka Dome’s capacity is approximately 36,000.

Looking ahead, the teams play the second game of the series Saturday night at Osaka Dome. Orix then travels to Fukuoka for a three-game set against SoftBank starting Tuesday, while Nippon-Ham heads to Saitama for a three-game series against Seibu beginning Tuesday. The two clubs will meet again in Sapporo for a three-game series starting May 1.

Nippon-Ham’s next 10 games include two more at Orix, three at Seibu, then three home games against Orix and two at Tohoku Rakuten. Orix’s next 10 include two more against Nippon-Ham, three home games against SoftBank, three at Nippon-Ham, and then three home games against Chiba Lotte.

In other notes, the game was the first of six scheduled meetings between the two teams in April and May. The Buffaloes entered the season with high expectations after winning the Pacific League pennant last year, while the Fighters were projected to finish in the middle of the pack.

The Interstat game simulator had projected a final score of Orix 6, Nippon-Ham 4. Interstat’s ELO system had given Nippon-Ham a 50.90 percent probability to win. Nippon-Ham had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of plus-1.5 runs. The total score of 5 went over the over/under line of 6.0.