TOKOROZAWA, Japan (Interstat) — Rodolfo Castro hit two home runs, including a tiebreaking solo shot in the ninth inning, and Haruki Hosono pitched 7 2/3 innings of one-hit ball as the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters defeated the Saitama Seibu Lions 2-1 on Tuesday night at Seibu Dome.

The victory lifted Nippon-Ham to 12-15, while Seibu dropped to 12-14-1. Attendance was 26,010, and the game lasted 2 hours, 50 minutes.

Castro provided the decisive blow in the top of the ninth, hammering a 1-0 pitch from Seibu reliever Hakua Iwaki over the left-center field wall. It was Castro’s second homer of the game and second of the season. He finished 2 for 4 with two home runs and two RBI, accounting for all of Nippon-Ham’s offense.

The Fighters got on the board first in the fifth inning. Kotaro Kiyomiya led off with a single, and Castro followed with a double to right-center, scoring Kiyomiya and tying the game at 1-1.

Seibu had taken an early lead in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, first baseman Shinya Hasegawa hit a solo home run to left field off Hosono, putting the Lions ahead 1-0. That was Seibu’s only hit of the game.

Hosono, who entered with a 5.06 ERA after allowing three earned runs over five innings in his previous start April 16 at Lotte, was masterful. He allowed one run on one hit, walked one and struck out six across 7 2/3 innings. He retired 12 consecutive batters from the second through the sixth innings and faced only one batter over the minimum until the eighth.

Nippon-Ham manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo lifted Hosono after he issued a leadoff walk to Taiga Hirasawa in the eighth. Reliever Taisho Tamai entered and retired the next two batters before a hit-by-pitch to Natsuo Takizawa and a dead-ball hit to Junichiro Kishi loaded the bases. Tamai coaxed a flyout from Hasegawa to left to escape the jam. Tamai got the win, improving to 1-0, pitching one-third of an inning.

Taisei Yanagawa worked a scoreless ninth for his sixth save, allowing one hit and striking out none. Yanagawa faced a runner on second with one out after an error allowed Alexander Canario to reach and steal third, but he got An-Ko Lin to ground out to first and Hirasawa to fly out to second to end the game.

Seibu’s starting pitcher Yutaro Watanabe turned in a strong performance of his own, tossing eight innings and allowing four hits and one earned run with six strikeouts. He left with the game tied 1-1 after the eighth and was in line for a no-decision. Watanabe threw 111 pitches and did not walk a batter. He got 12 groundball outs and mixed his fastball and slider effectively, but Nippon-Ham’s lone run off him came on Castro’s double.

The Lions had opportunities but failed to capitalize beyond Hasegawa’s first-inning homer. They grounded into two double plays, including one in the sixth when Hasegawa grounded into a 5-4-3 twin killing with a runner on first. In the eighth, Seibu loaded the bases with two outs but could not score. The Lions also made two sacrifice hits, including a successful bunt by catcher Yuto Koga in the eighth to advance a runner into scoring position.

Nippon-Ham’s offense struggled outside of Castro. The Fighters managed only five hits total. Franmil Reyes singled in the fourth, Kiyomiya singled in the fifth, and Yuya Gunji singled in the seventh. All other batters combined to go 1 for 26 with eight strikeouts. Castro accounted for two of the team’s five hits.

Seibu’s lineup was limited even further. The Lions had just one hit, Hasegawa’s home run. The rest of the lineup went 0 for 27 with six strikeouts and two walks. Hasegawa’s homer was his second of the season.

The game featured a tight pitching duel between Hosono and Watanabe, with both starters dominating for long stretches. Hosono did not allow a hit after the first inning until the seventh, when the Lions did not reach base. He threw 100 pitches, 67 for strikes.

Iwaki took the loss for Seibu, allowing one hit, one earned run and one strikeout in one inning of relief. He fell to 0-1.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Nippon-Ham, which had lost four of its previous five games. The Fighters had been swept in a three-game series at Orix over the weekend, losing 9-4, 4-2 and 3-2. They had also dropped a 3-2 decision to Rakuten on April 23 before splitting a two-game set with the Eagles.

Seibu entered Tuesday having won five of its previous seven games, including a series win at Rakuten over the weekend. The Lions won the first two games of that series, 3-0 in 10 innings and 9-7, before a rainout. Their previous series at home against Nippon-Ham on April 17-19 had seen the Lions take two of three, including a 15-3 rout in the finale.

The two teams will play the second game of this three-game set Wednesday at Seibu Dome. Nippon-Ham then returns home for a three-game series against Orix beginning Friday, while Seibu travels to Chiba to face the Lotte Marines.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Saitama Seibu Lions 5, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 3. Seibu had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +1.5. The total score of 2 went over the over/under line of 6.0.