OSAKA, Japan (Interstat) — Tomoya Mori homered twice and drove in three runs as the Orix Buffaloes built a 4-2 lead and held off a ninth-inning rally to beat the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 4-3 on Friday night at Osaka Dome.

Mori’s two-run blast in the fourth inning erased an early Fighters lead, and his solo shot in the eighth provided critical insurance. The Buffaloes improved to 22-12, while the Fighters fell to 16-20.

Hiroshi Suzuki earned the win with two scoreless innings of relief, allowing one hit and striking out two. Andres Machado recorded his 11th save, surrendering a solo home run in the ninth but striking out pinch hitter Ruan Ohtsuka with a runner on first to end the game. Kota Tatsu took the loss, pitching six innings and allowing three runs on five hits while striking out five.

The Fighters struck first in the third inning. Rodolfo Castro singled with one out, and Kotaro Kiyomiya followed with a single to put runners at first and third. Franmil Reyes then doubled to left-center, scoring both runners for a 2-0 lead.

Orix answered immediately in the fourth. Keita Nakagawa led off with a single to shallow center, and Mori drove a 2-0 pitch from Tatsu over the right-center field wall to tie the game at 2-2. Ryo Ohta walked and later advanced on a sacrifice bunt, but Yuma Mune flied out to end the inning with the score tied.

The Buffaloes had opened the scoring in the second. Tomoya Mori walked, and Ryo Ohta singled to shallow center. Bob Seymour followed with a sacrifice fly to right that scored Mori, giving Orix a 1-0 advantage.

Nippon-Ham missed a chance to extend its lead in the fifth. After Castro singled, Yuya Gunji flied out and Kiyomiya struck out to leave the runner stranded. In the sixth, Reyes singled and Kota Yazawa singled, but Chusei Mannami grounded into a double play.

Orix broke the tie in the eighth. With two outs, Mori connected for his second home run of the night, a solo shot to right off reliever Kenta Uehara. Uehara had pitched a scoreless seventh, striking out two, but the one mistake cost the Fighters.

In the top of the ninth, the Fighters refused to go quietly. Tatsuki Mizuno led off with a solo home run to right, cutting the Orix lead to 4-3. After Yua Tamiya flied out, Castro singled to bring the tying run to the plate. Machado struck out Ohtsuka to seal the victory.

The Fighters outhit the Buffaloes 12-6 but left seven runners on base. Reyes finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Mizuno went 2-for-4 with a homer and an RBI. For Orix, Mori was 2-for-3 with two homers, three RBIs and a walk.

Nippon-Ham had other opportunities. In the second inning, Yazawa tripled with one out, but Mannami struck out and Mizuno flied out to third. In the seventh, Mizuno singled and was sacrificed to second, but Castro grounded out and Gunji flied out.

Orix also stranded runners in scoring position. In the third, Kotaro Kurebayashi doubled leading off but was left at third after two groundouts and a strikeout. In the fifth, Ryoma Nishikawa singled but was stranded when Keita Nakagawa popped out.

The Buffaloes used five pitchers. Starter Riku Miyaguni allowed two runs on five hits over three innings. Suzuki followed with two scoreless innings, striking out two. Naruki Teranishi pitched a perfect seventh. Kosei Yoshida worked the eighth, allowing two hits but no runs while striking out one. Machado closed the ninth despite allowing a homer and a single.

Nippon-Ham’s bullpen was effective aside from the eighth-inning homer. Uehara tossed one perfect inning. The loss wasted a solid start from Tatsu, who allowed three earned runs and struck out five while walking three.

The game was the opener of a three-game series between the Pacific League rivals. The teams split their previous six meetings this season, with Orix winning three of the last four, including a 10-9 victory on May 2 at Nippon-Ham. The Fighters had won 12-2 at Rakuten on Wednesday, but could not sustain the momentum.

Orix has won five of its last seven games and holds a 22-12 record, tied for first in the league. Nippon-Ham has lost three of its last four and sits at 16-20.

Attendance was 36,204. The game lasted 2 hours, 53 minutes.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a 7-4 Orix victory. The ELO system gave Orix a 51.2 percent chance to win. Nippon-Ham was a pregame favorite with a +1.5 spread. The total of three runs went over the over/under of 6.5.