SAPPORO (Interstat) — Takayuki Katoh pitched 5 2/3 innings of seven-hit ball and Rodolfo Castro hit a three-run homer Friday night to lead the Nippon-Ham Fighters to a 5-1 victory over the Orix Buffaloes at Sapporo Dome.

Katoh (3-1) allowed one earned run while striking out one for the Fighters, who improved to 14-16. Ryuhei Sotani (2-1) took the loss after giving up two earned runs on six hits over six innings with six strikeouts for the Buffaloes, who fell to 17-11.

Orix took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Ryoma Nishikawa’s RBI double. Nippon-Ham answered in the third when Castro launched a three-run homer to left with two outs. Chusei Mannami added an RBI bunt single in the fourth and then homered to right-center in the sixth.

Mannami finished 2 for 3 with two RBIs. The Fighters grounded into two double plays. Attendance was 29,639, and the game lasted 2 hours, 48 minutes.