TOKYO (Interstat) — The Yakult Swallows defeated the Yomiuri Giants 5-4 on Tuesday evening at Meiji Jingu Stadium, rallying from an early deficit to snap a three-game losing streak. Attendance was 29,198 with a game time of 3 hours, 22 minutes.

Yakult took a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning on a two-out rally with RBI singles by Yoshihiro Akahane and Leandro Cedeno. Yomiuri tied the game in the seventh when Hayato Sakamoto hit a three-run home run. The Swallows reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the seventh with two runs on a single by Domingo Santana and another RBI single by Akahane, who finished with two hits and two RBIs. The Giants cut the deficit to 5-4 in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Yuta Izuguchi.

Yomiuri starter Iori Yamasaki allowed three earned runs over 5.2 innings with five strikeouts. Yakult outhit Yomiuri 12-7. Taichi Yamano (8-2) earned the win, allowing three earned runs over seven innings with nine strikeouts. Jose Quijada recorded his 21st save with a perfect ninth. Kota Nakagawa (2-1) took the loss for Yomiuri, which fell to 42-37-2. Yakult improved to 41-39-1.