OSAKA, Japan (Interstat) — Yuma Mune drove in two runs and Allen Kuri pitched six strong innings as the Orix Buffaloes defeated the Nippon-Ham Fighters 3-0 on Monday afternoon at Osaka Dome.

The Buffaloes snapped a two-game losing streak to the Fighters, who had outscored Orix 12-1 in the first two games of the series. Orix improved to 43-43-1, while Nippon-Ham fell to 51-41.

Kuri (7-6) scattered four hits over six innings, walking three and striking out five. He allowed only one runner to reach second base, retiring the side in order in the second, fourth and fifth innings. Andres Machado pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 21st save.

Kohei Arihara (2-6) took the loss, allowing three runs on six hits over five innings. He walked four and struck out five.

The game’s decisive rally came in the first inning. After Arihara retired Ryoma Yamanaka on a flyout to left, Haruto Watanabe reached on an error by shortstop Tatsuki Mizuno. Ryoma Nishikawa singled to shallow left, sending Watanabe to second. Ryo Ohta followed with a single to shallow center, loading the bases with one out. Ryoto Kita struck out swinging for the second out, but Mune singled to shallow center, scoring Watanabe and Nishikawa to give Orix a 2-0 lead. Kotaro Kurebayashi struck out swinging to end the inning.

Orix added an insurance run in the third. Watanabe led off with a bunt single to first and stole second. Nishikawa walked, and Ohta walked to load the bases with no outs. Kita grounded out to second, scoring Watanabe from third. Mune followed with a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Nishikawa and extending the lead to 3-0. Kurebayashi struck out swinging to end the inning.

Nippon-Ham’s best scoring opportunity came in the top of the first, when Kotaro Kiyomiya walked and Franmil Reyes singled to shortstop to put runners on first and second with one out. But Chusei Mannami grounded into a double play, third to second to first, ending the inning.

The Fighters threatened again in the seventh. Yuki Nomura walked with one out, and after Kota Yazawa grounded out, Shu Yamagata singled to shallow center to put runners on first and second with two outs. But Kengo Yoshida struck out swinging to end the inning.

In the ninth, Yuya Gunji led off with a double to right-center, but Yuki Nomura grounded out to third and Daigo Kamikawabata grounded out to second to end the game.

Orix outhit Nippon-Ham 7-4. Ryo Ohta had two hits for the Buffaloes, including a single in the first and a single in the fifth. Mune went 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Gunji had the only extra-base hit for Nippon-Ham, a double in the ninth. Shu Yamagata went 1-for-1 as a pinch hitter and later moved to second base.

The Buffaloes’ victory was keyed by their ability to capitalize on Nippon-Ham’s defensive miscue in the first inning. Arihara’s error on Watanabe’s grounder allowed the inning to continue, and Orix took full advantage. The Fighters’ offense, which had scored 12 runs in the previous two games, was silenced by Kuri’s mix of fastballs and breaking balls.

Nippon-Ham’s lineup was further hampered by the absence of several key hitters. Tatsuki Mizuno went 0-for-4, and Kota Yazawa went 0-for-3. The Fighters struck out eight times and left four runners on base.

The game was played in front of 30,684 fans at Osaka Dome, with a time of 2 hours, 54 minutes.

Nippon-Ham had entered the series on a hot streak, having won three of their previous four games. But the loss marked the second time in the season series that the Fighters were shut out by Orix. The Buffaloes had been swept in a three-game series at Nippon-Ham in late June and early July, losing 9-1, 6-0 and 9-2. The teams’ most recent head-to-head games saw Orix win only two of the previous 10 meetings entering Monday.

For Orix, the win snapped a four-game losing streak overall. The Buffaloes had lost two to Nippon-Ham on Saturday and Sunday, then dropped two of three at Tohoku Rakuten last week. Orix had not won at home since July 5 against Saitama Seibu.

The most important segment of the game was the bottom of the first inning, when Orix scored two runs after a critical error. The play-by-play shows that with one out, Watanabe reached second on Mizuno’s error, then Nishikawa singled and Ohta singled to load the bases. After Kita struck out, Mune delivered the two-run single. This gave Kuri an early lead and allowed him to pitch with confidence. Nippon-Ham never recovered from the deficit.

Nippon-Ham’s previous results showed a pattern of strong hitting, averaging 4.7 runs per game over their last 10 contests. But against Kuri, the Fighters could not generate sustained offense.

Orix’s next game is Tuesday at Fukuoka Softbank, while Nippon-Ham travels to Saitama Seibu on Wednesday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Nippon-Ham 4, Orix 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave Nippon-Ham a 55.90 percent probability to win. Nippon-Ham was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of plus-1.5. The total score of 3 went over the over-under line of 6.5.