TOKOROZAWA, Japan (Interstat) — Kona Takahashi tossed seven innings of four-hit shutout ball and the Seibu Lions defeated the Nippon-Ham Fighters 3-0 on Wednesday afternoon at Seibu Dome.

The Lions scored all their runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Taiga Hirasawa singled to shallow center with two outs in the fourth, driving in a run. In the fifth, Natsuo Takizawa’s fielder’s choice groundout plated a run, and Seiya Watanabe followed with a two-out single to shallow right for another RBI. Seibu managed only six hits but made two sacrifice hits.

Takahashi (3-2) struck out four and walked none over seven innings. Hiroshi Kaino earned his first save with a scoreless ninth, allowing one hit and striking out one.

Kota Tatsu (2-2) took the loss for Nippon-Ham, working seven innings while allowing five hits and two earned runs with six strikeouts.

Attendance was 27,572. The game lasted 2 hours, 36 minutes. The Fighters dropped to 12-16, while Seibu improved to 13-14-1. The teams conclude their series Thursday.