SAPPORO, Japan (Interstat) — The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters pounded out 15 hits and built an early lead they never relinquished, beating the Orix Buffaloes 9-2 on Tuesday evening at Sapporo Dome.

Nippon-Ham scored in five different innings and received home runs from three different batters as it improved to 43-33-1. Orix fell to 38-34-1.

The Fighters jumped on Orix starter Sean Hjelle in the first inning. Shun Mizutani led off with a single, but was caught stealing. Tatsuki Mizuno then singled and stole second. After Franmil Reyes struck out, Chusei Mannami walked. Kengo Yoshida singled to shallow center to drive in Mizuno, and a single by Rodolfo Castro scored Mannami, giving Nippon-Ham a 2-0 lead.

Orix answered in the second against Nippon-Ham starter Koki Kitayama. Keita Nakagawa flied out to start the inning, but Tomoya Mori walked. Kotaro Kurebayashi then crushed a home run to left field, scoring two runs and tying the game at 2-2.

Nippon-Ham reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the second. Yuya Shintoh tripled to the right-field line and scored on a single by Taiki Narama. Mizutani singled to shallow center to drive in Narama, putting the Fighters up 4-2. A double play and a groundout ended the inning.

In the third inning, Nippon-Ham extended its lead. Yoshida led off with a solo home run to right field. After Castro was hit by a pitch, Kotaro Kiyomiya doubled to left-center. Shintoh grounded out to third, scoring Castro and making it 6-2.

Orix had its best chance to get back into the game in the fourth. Ryoma Nishikawa singled and Nakagawa walked, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Mori flied out to shortstop, and Kurebayashi walked to load the bases. But Masahiro Nishino grounded into a double play to shortstop, ending the threat.

The Buffaloes managed only four hits in the game. After the fourth inning, they did not put a runner in scoring position until the ninth. Kitayama settled in and retired 11 of the last 12 batters he faced before leaving after six innings.

Nippon-Ham continued to add on. In the seventh, Mizuno led off with a solo home run to right. Reyes walked and Mannami doubled. After Yoshida lined out to the pitcher, Castro singled to left to score Reyes. Castro stole second, but Kiyomiya and Shintoh struck out to end the inning with the Fighters leading 8-2.

The Fighters closed the scoring in the eighth. With two outs, Mizuno singled to center, and Reyes hit a two-run home run to right, his second homer of the season, making it 9-2.

Orix went down quietly in the ninth. Keita Nakagawa walked to lead off, but Tomoya Mori flied out, Kurebayashi struck out swinging, and Yuma Mune was hit by a pitch. Pinch hitter Bob Seymour grounded out to first to end the game.

Kitayama earned the win, improving to 8-2. He allowed two runs on four hits in six innings, walking two and striking out four. Hjelle took the loss, dropping to 3-4. He surrendered six runs on nine hits in three innings, walking one and striking out one.

Offensively for Nippon-Ham, Mizuno led the way with three hits, including a home run and an RBI. Yoshida finished with two hits, a home run and two RBIs. Reyes also homered and drove in two. Mizutani had two hits and an RBI. Shintoh added a triple and an RBI. Narama singled and scored a run. Castro had two hits, two RBIs and a stolen base. Kiyomiya doubled and walked. Mannami doubled and walked.

For Orix, Kurebayashi had the only extra-base hit, the two-run homer, and drove in both runs. Nishikawa singled twice. Mori went 0-for-3 with a walk. Yamanaka struck out three times.

The attendance was 29,676, and the game lasted 3 hours, 17 minutes.

The victory continued a strong stretch for the Fighters, who have won five of their last six games. The Buffaloes have lost four of their last six. The two teams meet again Wednesday and Thursday at Sapporo Dome before Orix returns home to face the Seibu Lions and Nippon-Ham travels to play the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Nippon-Ham 5, Orix 3. Interstat’s ELO system had given the Fighters a 58.80 percent probability of winning. Orix had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of nine runs went over the over-under line of 6.5.