TOKYO (Interstat) — Taichi Yamano pitched seven strong innings and Jose Quijada earned his 14th save as the Yakult Swallows defeated the Yomiuri Giants 3-1 on Thursday evening at Meiji Jingu Stadium.

Yamano allowed one run on seven hits with four strikeouts to improve to 6-1. Masahiro Tanaka took the loss, allowing three runs on four hits over four innings, falling to 3-2.

Yakult struck early, scoring two runs in the first inning. Kyo Suzuki grounded out to drive in a run, and Yukihiro Iwata added a sacrifice fly. Hideki Nagaoka doubled in the second inning to make it 3-0. Yomiuri got its lone run in the third on Bobby Dalbec’s RBI single.

The Giants outhit the Swallows 9-5 but left runners on base. Ren Tawa, Kenshin Hotta and Yuji Akahoshi combined for four scoreless innings in relief for Yomiuri.

Attendance was 29,328. The game lasted 2 hours, 42 minutes. Yakult improved to 27-17, while Yomiuri fell to 24-19.