SAPPORO, Japan (Interstat) — The Nippon-Ham Fighters defeated the Orix Buffaloes 5-1 on Friday evening at Sapporo Dome, snapping a three-game skid against their Pacific League rival behind a three-run homer from Rodolfo Castro and a steady outing from starter Takayuki Katoh.

The win improved the Fighters to 14-16 while the Buffaloes dropped to 17-11 before a crowd of 29,639. The game lasted 2 hours, 48 minutes.

Orix jumped ahead in the first inning against Katoh. Yuma Mune singled to shallow left and moved to second when Haruto Watanabe grounded out to third. Ryoma Nishikawa doubled to left-center, scoring Mune for an early 1-0 lead. Katoh escaped further damage by getting Ryo Ohta to ground out to shortstop and Tomoya Mori to ground out to first.

Fighters starter Takayuki Katoh settled in after the first. He allowed only one more hit through the next four innings while his offense provided support. Katoh pitched 5 2/3 innings, surrendering seven hits and one earned run with one strikeout, improving to 3-1.

Buffaloes starter Ryuhei Sotani matched Katoh early. He struck out Tatsuki Mizuno and Yuki Nomura in the first inning and set down the side in order in the second. But the Fighters broke through in the third.

With two outs, Yua Tamiya singled to shallow left. Tatsuki Mizuno reached on an error, putting runners on first and second. Castro followed by launching a home run to left field, scoring three runs and giving Nippon-Ham a 3-1 lead. Sotani retired Yuki Nomura to end the inning.

Castro’s blast was the pivotal moment of the game. The center fielder finished 1-for-4 with three RBIs. Sotani lasted six innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs while striking out six, falling to 2-1.

The Fighters added a run in the fourth. Yuya Gunji walked and Franmil Reyes singled to shallow left. Kotaro Kiyomiya grounded out to third, moving the runners. Chusei Mannami laid down a bunt hit to first, scoring Gunji to make it 4-1. Taiki Narama flew out to center and Yua Tamiya grounded out to shortstop to end the inning.

Nippon-Ham added another solo run in the sixth. With two outs, Mannami hit a home run to right-center, his second hit of the night. He finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs. The Fighters grounded into two double plays, but the damage was done.

Orix threatened in the fifth when Haruto Watanabe and Ryoma Nishikawa strung together two-out singles, but Ryo Ohta grounded out to shortstop. In the sixth, Bob Seymour doubled off the left-field line with two outs, but Kenya Wakatsuki grounded out to second.

The Buffaloes put a runner on in the seventh when Kotaro Kurebayashi singled to lead off the inning, but Katoh struck out Yuma Mune and Haruto Watanabe before Ryoma Nishikawa flew out to center. Katoh was pulled after that at-bat, having thrown 5 2/3 innings.

Nippon-Ham’s bullpen took over. Seigi Tanaka pitched a scoreless seventh, striking out two. Taisho Tamai worked a perfect eighth with a strikeout. Kenta Uehara allowed a single in the ninth but struck out two to close the game. Yukiya Saito recorded one out in relief.

For Orix, Hiroshi Suzuki pitched a scoreless seventh, allowing one hit, and Kaito Iriyama threw a perfect eighth.

The Buffaloes outhit the Fighters 8-7 but left runners on base in key spots. Orix went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, while Nippon-Ham was 2-for-10.

Orix’s loss came after a 5-4 win against the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks on Wednesday. The Buffaloes had won three of their previous four games. Nippon-Ham entered the contest having won two of their last three, including an 11-inning victory over the Saitama Seibu Lions on Thursday.

The two teams continue their series on Saturday and Sunday at Sapporo Dome before splitting for a series against the Chiba Lotte Marines and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, respectively. The Fighters will then travel to Orix for a three-game set on May 8-10.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Orix Buffaloes 7, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave Nippon-Ham a 54.60 percent probability to win. Nippon-Ham was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of four runs went under the over/under line of 7.5.