FUKUOKA, Japan (Interstat) — The Tokyo Yakult Swallows scored four runs in the sixth inning to defeat the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 4-2 on Friday evening at Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome.

Yakult starter Kojiro Yoshimura allowed two runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings to earn the win, improving to 3-5. Jose Quijada pitched a scoreless ninth for his 16th save.

The Hawks took an early lead on Tomoya Masaki’s solo home run in the first and added a run in the second on a sacrifice bunt. But Yakult broke through in the sixth against SoftBank starter Jun Maeda. Yukihiro Iwata’s two-run single tied the game, Yasutaka Shiomi’s sacrifice fly put Yakult ahead and Shu Masuda’s single added another run.

Maeda (1-1) allowed four runs on three hits in 5 1/3 innings. The Swallows had four hits, the Hawks seven. Attendance was 39,791. Game time was 2:51.

Yakult improved to 34-25-1, while SoftBank fell to 32-29. The teams continue their series Saturday.