TOKYO (Interstat) — Bobby Dalbec homered twice and drove in five runs, leading the Yomiuri Giants to an 8-2 victory over the Tokyo Yakult Swallows on Wednesday night at Meiji Jingu Stadium.

Dalbec, the Giants’ first baseman, went 2 for 4 with a three-run homer in the fourth inning and a two-run homer in the sixth inning. He also struck out swinging in his final at-bat in the seventh. Dalbec has six home runs and 11 RBIs in his last five games, including a 1-for-4 effort in Tuesday’s 5-4 loss to Yakult.

Yomiuri, now 43-37-2, scored three runs in the fourth, one in the fifth, three in the sixth and one in the seventh. The Giants finished with 12 hits, led by Go Matsumoto’s 3-for-5 performance. Shunsuke Urata added two hits and an RBI, and Yuta Izuguchi doubled in a run.

Yakult, 41-40-1, got solo home runs from Domingo Santana in the third inning and Shu Masuda in the ninth. Masuda went 2 for 4 with the homer. The Swallows managed only six hits overall.

Right-hander Yuhi Nishidate earned the win, improving to 2-1. He pitched seven innings, allowing four hits, one earned run and striking out five. Nishidate retired 11 of the final 13 batters he faced after Santana’s homer. Yuhei Takanashi worked a scoreless eighth inning, and Keisuke Izumi allowed one run in the ninth.

Yakult starter Yasunobu Okugawa took the loss, falling to 3-7. He allowed four runs on five hits over five innings, striking out four and walking one. Relievers Yuki Ishihara, Kousuke Sakaguchi and Hiroki Ohnishi each worked an inning, with Ishihara giving up a run on two hits.

The game, played in front of 29,155 fans, lasted 3 hours, 1 minute. Yomiuri took control in the fourth inning after Urata and Matsumoto singled, then Matsumoto stole second. Dalbec followed with his three-run blast to left-center. In the sixth, Izuguchi singled and Dalbec homered to right. Misaki Sasahara added an RBI single later in the inning.

Yakult’s only offense outside the homers came in the third when Santana launched a solo shot to right. Masuda’s solo homer in the ninth came off Izumi, but Yoshihiro Akahane, Leandro Cedeno and Yasutaka Shiomi were retired in order to end the game.

The victory avenged Tuesday’s one-run loss to the Swallows and gave Yomiuri a split in the two-game set. The Giants continue their series at Yakult on Thursday, then return home to host the Chunichi Dragons for three games starting Friday. Yakult travels to Yokohama for a weekend series against the BayStars.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a 4-2 final score in favor of the Giants, and its ELO system gave Yomiuri a 51.20 percent probability to win. Yakult had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of plus-1.5. The total of five runs went over the over-under line of 7.5.