TOKOROZAWA, Japan (Interstat) — Ren Fukushima pitched six innings of four-hit ball and Taiki Narama homered as the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters defeated the Saitama Seibu Lions 5-1 on Sunday evening at Seibu Dome in front of 27,524.

The victory gave Nippon-Ham a 2-1 series win after dropping the opener Friday and rebounding Saturday. The Fighters improved to 42-33, while Seibu fell to 44-29-1.

Fukushima, who improved to 3-2, allowed one earned run, struck out six and walked one. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning and retired eight straight batters at one point. The bullpen closed with three scoreless innings, with Hiroya Shimamoto, Seigi Tanaka and Mizuki Hori each tossing a frame.

Seibu starter Yutaro Watanabe took the loss, dropping to 4-4. He went six innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits with three strikeouts and two walks.

The Lions struck first in the bottom of the first. After Fukushima struck out Alexander Canario and Natsuo Takizawa, Junichiro Kishi doubled down the left-field line. Tyler Nevin followed with a double to center, scoring Kishi for a 1-0 lead. Yuto Koga walked, but Shuta Tonosaki grounded out to third to end the inning.

Nippon-Ham’s offense was held in check through four innings, managing only a two-out single by Franmil Reyes in the fourth. Watanabe retired the side in order in the first and second and got a double-play grounder in the third.

The game turned in the fifth inning. Kengo Yoshida led off with a double to right-center. Yuki Nomura walked. After Kotaro Kiyomiya flied out to right and Yuya Shintoh lined out to second, Narama walked to load the bases. Shun Mizutani then singled to shallow right, driving in Yoshida and Nomura to give Nippon-Ham a 2-1 lead. Mizutani’s two-run single was the key blow, as the Fighters never trailed again.

Nippon-Ham added a run in the sixth. Tatsuki Mizuno doubled leading off. After Reyes struck out and Chusei Mannami grounded out, Yoshida singled to shallow left, scoring Mizuno for a 3-1 advantage.

The Fighters extended the lead in the seventh. Kiyomiya singled to left leading off. Shintoh sacrificed him to second. Narama then doubled to left, scoring Kiyomiya to make it 4-1.

Narama capped the scoring in the ninth with a solo home run to left field with two outs, giving Nippon-Ham a 5-1 cushion. It was his second RBI of the game and third hit of the night. Narama finished 2 for 3 with a walk, a home run and two RBIs.

Seibu threatened in the seventh. With one out, Kazunari Ishii singled and Seiya Watanabe doubled, putting runners at second and third. But Fukushima’s replacement, Shimamoto, entered and struck out pinch-hitter Masayuki Kuwahara swinging and then Canario looking to escape the inning.

The Lions put a runner on in the ninth when Ishii singled with two outs off Hori, but Seiya Watanabe grounded out to third to end the game.

Nippon-Ham outhit Seibu 11-7. Yoshida had two hits and an RBI, and Mizutani drove in two runs. For Seibu, Kishi doubled and Nevin doubled and drove in the only run.

The game lasted 3 hours, 6 minutes.

In a series that saw three one-run decisions the previous two nights, the Fighters broke it open with a four-run cushion after the fifth inning. Fukushima’s efficient start and the bullpen’s clean work kept the Lions from mounting any sustained rallies. Seibu stranded six runners, including two in scoring position in the seventh.

Nippon-Ham’s previous results showed a pattern of strong pitching and timely hitting. The Fighters had won four of their last six entering Sunday, including a 4-2 win over the Lions on Saturday. Seibu had dropped two of three to Rakuten earlier in the week before splitting the first two games of this series.

The two teams will meet again in July. Nippon-Ham returns home to face Orix Buffaloes on Tuesday, while Seibu travels to Fukuoka to face SoftBank.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 5, Saitama Seibu Lions 4. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Nippon-Ham with a 53.00 percent probability to win. Seibu had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of plus-1.5. The total of five runs went over the over-under of 6.5.