TOKOROZAWA, Japan (Interstat) — Tyler Nevin’s solo home run in the bottom of the 10th inning lifted the Seibu Lions to a 4-3 victory over the Nippon-Ham Fighters on Wednesday evening at Seibu Dome.

The walk-off blast made a winner of reliever Taishi Mameda, who worked a scoreless 10th inning for his first win of the season. Seigi Tanaka took the loss for the Fighters, falling to 1-3.

The game, which lasted 3 hours, 31 minutes before an announced crowd of 27,489, featured a duel between starters Hiromi Itoh of Nippon-Ham and Kaima Taira of Seibu, both of whom left with the game tied after five innings.

Nippon-Ham jumped out to an early lead, scoring a run in the first inning on a Chusei Mannami groundout that plated Tatsuki Mizuno, who had singled and moved to third on a Franmil Reyes double. The Fighters extended the lead to 3-0 in the second inning, stringing together three singles and a walk. Mizuno delivered a two-out RBI single to shallow center, scoring Kotaro Kiyomiya. Reyes followed with another RBI single to shallow left, making it 2-0. A walk to Mannami loaded the bases, but Yuya Gunji’s flyout to right ended the inning. Still, the Fighters held a 3-0 lead.

Seibu answered in the third inning. Sosuke Genda singled to start the frame, and Takuya Hiruma tripled to center, scoring Genda. Manaya Nishikawa struck out, but Alexander Canario’s sacrifice fly to right brought Hiruma home, cutting the deficit to 3-2.

The Lions tied the game in the fourth inning. Tyler Nevin doubled to right-center with one out. After a strikeout and a lineout, Seiya Watanabe doubled to center, driving in Nevin to make it 3-3.

Neither team scored again until the 10th. The Fighters threatened in the top of the ninth, putting runners on first and second with two outs after a walk to Ryohei Hosokawa, but Tatsuki Mizuno grounded out to first. Seibu had a chance in the bottom of the ninth, placing runners on first and second with two outs, but Canario flied out to third.

In the bottom of the 10th, Nevin led off against Tanaka. He launched a 1-0 pitch over the left-center field wall for a game-ending home run, his first of the night.

Itoh worked six innings for Nippon-Ham, allowing three earned runs on eight hits while striking out eight. He did not factor in the decision. Taira gave up three earned runs on five hits over five innings, striking out six.

The bullpens took over from there. Hiroya Shimamoto and Reo Shibata each tossed a scoreless inning for the Fighters. For the Lions, Hiroshi Kaino worked a scoreless seventh with one strikeout, Ryosuke Moriwaki allowed one hit in a scoreless eighth, Trey Wingenter struck out two in a perfect ninth, and Mameda closed out the 10th.

Hiruma went 2 for 2 with a triple, a double and an RBI for Seibu. Nevin was 2 for 5 with the home run, a double and the game-winning RBI. Genda had two hits and scored a run. For Nippon-Ham, Mizuno had two hits and an RBI, and Reyes had two hits and an RBI.

The game marked the third meeting between the two teams in 12 days. Seibu took two of three in a series at Nippon-Ham from July 10-12, with the Lions winning 12-1 in the finale. The Fighters had taken two of three at Seibu Dome in late June, winning 5-1 and 4-2 before losing 4-3 in the series finale.

Nippon-Ham entered the game with a 51-42 record, having lost two of its previous three games, including a 3-0 shutout at Orix on Monday. The Fighters had won six of their previous eight games overall.

Seibu improved to 52-37-1 with the win. The Lions had won five of their last six games, including a 5-4 victory at Tohoku Rakuten on Monday.

The most important sequence of the game occurred in the bottom of the 10th inning. With the score tied at 3-3, Nevin came to the plate as the leadoff batter. Tanaka, who had pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth innings, stayed on for the 10th. On a 1-0 pitch, Nevin drove the ball deep to left-center field, ending the game and sending the Seibu Dome crowd home happy.

The Fighters had taken an early 3-0 lead but could not sustain it. Itoh pitched effectively, but the Lions chipped away with single runs in the third and fourth innings. From the fifth inning onward, both bullpens held the opposition scoreless until Nevin’s decisive blast.

The loss dropped Nippon-Ham to 51-43, still in contention in the Pacific League. The Fighters will conclude this two-game series at Seibu on Thursday before returning home to face Tohoku Rakuten on Saturday.

Seibu, now 52-37-1, will host the Fighters again Thursday before welcoming Fukuoka Softbank for a weekend series.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Seibu 5, Nippon-Ham 4, while Interstat’s ELO system gave the Fighters a 53.40 percent probability to win. Seibu was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1½ runs, and the total of 0 went over the over/under line of 5½ runs.