SAPPORO, Japan (Interstat) — Kaima Taira struck out six over seven scoreless innings as the Seibu Lions blanked the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 3-0 on Friday evening at Sapporo Dome.

Taira scattered two hits and walked none, improving to 3-1. Hakua Iwaki earned his 12th save with a perfect ninth inning, and Hibiki Shinohara added a scoreless eighth with two strikeouts.

Seibu broke a scoreless tie in the sixth. Tyler Nevin lifted a sacrifice fly to center with the bases loaded, scoring the game’s first run. In the seventh, Shinya Hasegawa doubled to center with two outs, driving in two more runs for a 3-0 lead.

Kota Tatsu took the loss for Nippon-Ham, falling to 2-4. He allowed three runs on six hits over seven innings while striking out six. The Fighters managed only two hits total.

Attendance was 29,623. The game lasted 2 hours, 36 minutes.

Seibu improved to 23-17-1, while Nippon-Ham dropped to 20-22. The Lions have won four straight and eight of their last 10.