SAPPORO, Japan (Interstat) — The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters look to complete a three-game sweep of the Orix Buffaloes on Thursday evening at Sapporo Dome.

The Fighters (44-33-1) have dominated the series, outscoring the Buffaloes 15-2 in the first two games. Nippon-Ham won 6-0 on Wednesday behind a complete-game shutout from right-hander Takayuki Katoh, who allowed three hits and struck out three.

Katoh, a player to watch, has been stellar over his past three starts. He has thrown 23 innings, allowing just four earned runs with nine strikeouts and posting a 3-0 record in that span. He tossed a three-hit shutout against Orix on Wednesday and also worked seven innings in a win against Lotte on June 24.

The Buffaloes (38-35-1) will counter with right-hander Daiki Tajima, who has struggled recently. Tajima lasted seven innings Wednesday but allowed nine hits and four earned runs in the loss. He has surrendered 15 earned runs over 12 2/3 innings across his past two starts, including a disastrous 1 2/3-inning outing against SoftBank on June 24 in which he gave up six earned runs.

Orix is looking to end a four-game losing streak. The Buffaloes have dropped two straight to Nippon-Ham and lost two of three to SoftBank earlier in the week.

The Fighters have won seven of the past 10 meetings between the teams, including four of five at Sapporo Dome.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 6-3 Nippon-Ham victory, and the ELO system gives the Fighters a 60.5 percent probability of winning.

Following Thursday’s game, Nippon-Ham travels to face the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on Friday. Orix returns home to host the Saitama Seibu Lions for a three-game series starting Friday.