TOKYO (Interstat) — Takumi Ohshiro’s three-run home run in the fourth inning proved decisive as the Yomiuri Giants defeated the Yakult Swallows 3-2 on Tuesday afternoon at Tokyo Dome in front of 42,228 fans.

The game, which lasted 2 hours 25 minutes, saw Yomiuri improve to 17-15 on the season while Yakult fell to 20-13. The win gave the Giants a measure of revenge after losing to the Swallows 5-1 the previous day in the opener of a two-game series.

Yomiuri starter Yuji Akahoshi earned his third victory against one loss, working five innings and allowing three hits and no earned runs while striking out three. The left-hander’s outing was a stark turnaround from his recent struggles. In his previous three appearances, including a start at Hiroshima on April 28, Akahoshi had been tagged for a combined four earned runs over 2 1/3 innings. Against Yakult, he kept the Swallows off the scoreboard despite allowing a leadoff double in the first and a double in the fourth.

Yakult starter Kojiro Yoshimura took the loss, dropping to 2-4 despite a strong performance. Yoshimura went eight innings, scattering only two hits while striking out four. He allowed three earned runs, all coming on Ohshiro’s blast in the fourth. Yoshimura did not walk a batter until the fourth inning and kept the Giants hitless until that frame.

Raidel Martinez pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 10th save, striking out one.

The game’s pivotal moment came in the bottom of the fourth with the score 0-0. Yoshimura issued a leadoff walk to Go Matsumoto, then after Yuta Izuguchi flied out, walked Bobby Dalbec to put runners on first and second. Ohshiro, the Giants’ catcher, launched a 1-0 pitch over the right-field wall for his first home run of the season, giving Yomiuri a 3-0 lead.

Yakult responded in the top of the sixth. Left fielder Domingo Santana led off with a solo home run to left-center, his second hit of the game. Santana finished 2 for 3 with a double, a homer and a walk. After a walk to Yudai Koga and a single by Souma Uchiyama, Keigo Kitamura grounded out to shortstop, scoring Koga to make it 3-2. But the rally stalled when pinch hitter Ren Sawai singled and Yoshimura grounded out to end the inning.

The Swallows had opportunities earlier. In the top of the first, Santana doubled with one out, but Uchiyama was hit by a pitch and the inning ended on a strikeout. In the fourth, Uchiyama doubled to lead off and Kitamura singled, but Ryui Itoh grounded into a double play.

Yomiuri’s bullpen preserved the one-run lead. Taisei Ota pitched a scoreless sixth, striking out two. Eito Tanaka tossed a perfect seventh. Yuhei Takanashi worked a scoreless eighth, allowing one hit but escaping unscathed. Martinez closed the door in the ninth, retiring the side in order.

Yakult’s offense outhit the Giants 6-2, but the Giants made the most of their limited chances. Aside from Ohshiro’s homer, Yomiuri managed only one other hit — a double by Makoto Kadowaki in the eighth — and drew four walks. Yakult’s six hits included two by Uchiyama, who went 2 for 3 with a double and was hit by a pitch. Kitamura had a single and an RBI.

Defensively, both teams played clean games with no errors.

The series concludes Wednesday with the same two teams meeting again at Tokyo Dome. Yakult then travels to Hiroshima for a three-game set starting Friday, while Yomiuri heads to Nagoya to face the Chunichi Dragons.

In the season series, the teams have split their previous seven meetings. Yakult won the first three games of a three-game set in Tokyo from April 10-12, taking the opener 2-3? Actually, the April 10 game was a 2-3 loss for Yakult? Let’s check: The provided head-to-head list shows Yakult lost 2-3 on April 10, won 3-2 on April 11, won 2-0 on April 12. Then Yomiuri won 8-2 on April 17, lost 3-4? Wait, the list shows Yomiuri 8-2 win on April 17, then Yomiuri 3-4 loss (4 innings?) on April 18, Yomiuri 1-3 loss on April 19, and Yakult 5-1 win on May 4. So prior to Tuesday, the season series was tied 3-3. The May 4 game gave Yakult a 4-3 edge, but Tuesday’s win tied it again at 4-4.

Yakult came into Tuesday’s game having lost three of their previous four games, including a 12-2 blowout at the hands of Yokohama on May 3. Yomiuri had lost three of four before Tuesday, including a 3-0 defeat at Hanshin on May 3.

The game defied pregame expectations. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a 5-4 victory for Yakult. Interstat’s ELO system gave Yomiuri a 54.70 percent probability of winning, and the Giants were installed as a 1.5-run favorite. The total score of five runs went over the over-under line of 6.5, meaning the game finished lower than the betting total of 6.5 runs.