FUKUOKA, Japan (Interstat) — Yasunobu Okugawa threw a complete-game shutout, Ayuto Matsushita drove in three runs and the Tokyo Yakult Swallows blanked the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 4-0 on Sunday afternoon at Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome.

Attendance was 40,122, and the game lasted 2 hours, 21 minutes.

Okugawa (3-5) allowed five hits, walked none and struck out nine batters. He retired the side in order in the first, second, fourth, seventh and ninth innings. The right-hander faced only three batters above the minimum and did not allow a runner to reach second base until the fifth inning.

Alexander Armenta (0-2) took the loss, allowing four runs on six hits over six innings. He walked two, hit one batter and struck out five.

The Swallows opened the scoring in the second inning. Domingo Santana walked with nobody out, and after a flyout, Yukihiro Iwata singled to put runners on first and second. Yuhei Nakamura was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jose Osuna struck out for the second out, but Matsushita followed with a single to shallow center that scored Santana and Iwata, giving Yakult a 2-0 lead.

Yakult extended the lead in the fifth inning. With two outs, Santana hit a solo home run to right field, his second of the season, making it 3-0.

The Swallows added another run in the sixth. Iwata led off with a single to shortstop, moved to second on Nakamura’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Matsushita’s single to shallow left, his second hit and third RBI of the game.

Matsushita finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Santana walked twice and scored two runs. Iwata had two hits. The rest of the Yakult lineup combined for two hits — Osuna singled in the fourth and no other Swallow reached base safely.

SoftBank mounted few threats. Tatsuru Yanagimachi singled in the fifth but was stranded. Taisei Makihara singled in the third and Isami Nomura singled in the sixth, but each rally ended with a flyout or strikeout. Yanagimachi also singled in the seventh but was erased on a groundout. Tomoya Masaki singled with two outs in the eighth but was left on base.

The Hawks’ best chance came in the third inning when Makihara singled with two outs, but Masaki flied out to end the frame. SoftBank did not advance a runner past first base in any inning.

Defensively, Yakult turned a double play in the eighth when Masaki was erased on a fielder’s choice, but no other defensive gem was required as Okugawa kept the Hawks off balance.

Yakult improved to 34-29-1 with the victory. SoftBank dropped to 37-27.

The Swallows won the three-game series after splitting the first two games. On Friday, Yakult won 4-2, and on Saturday, SoftBank won 8-1.

Yakult returns home to host the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in a three-game series starting Friday. SoftBank travels to Sapporo to face the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in a three-game series also beginning Friday.

The game was played under partly cloudy skies with the dome roof open. The temperature at first pitch was 74 degrees.

Here are the key performances from the game, listed in descending order of importance: Ayuto Matsushita (Yakult) was 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Domingo Santana (Yakult) was 1-for-2 with a home run, two walks and two runs scored. Yukihiro Iwata (Yakult) was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Tatsuru Yanagimachi (SoftBank) was 2-for-3. Taisei Makihara (SoftBank) was 1-for-3. Isami Nomura (SoftBank) was 1-for-4.

In the second inning, after Yakult loaded the bases with one out, Osuna struck out looking. Matsushita then delivered the two-run single that put the Swallows ahead for good.

In the fifth, Santana’s solo home run with two outs extended the lead. The pitch was a 1-1 fastball that Santana drove over the right-field wall.

In the sixth, Iwata’s leadoff single and Nakamura’s sacrifice bunt set the stage for Matsushita’s second RBI single of the game.

SoftBank’s offense struggled to mount any rallies against Okugawa. The Hawks struck out nine times and did not draw a walk. They left five runners on base.

The Swallows’ bullpen was not used as Okugawa went the distance. It was his first complete game of the season.

The game was the final meeting of the regular season between the two teams. Yakult won the season series two games to one.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of 7-2 in favor of SoftBank. Its ELO system gave SoftBank a 68.30 percent probability to win. Yakult was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of four runs went over the over-under line of 7.5.