CHIBA, Japan (Interstat) – Ryu Kutani pitched a scoreless inning of relief to earn the win as the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles defeated the Chiba Lotte Marines 4-3 on Thursday evening at Chiba Marine Stadium. Attendance was 26,933.

Rakuten starter Tatsuki Koja allowed three earned runs on seven hits over six innings, striking out seven. The Golden Eagles outhit the Marines 12-7. Lotte took a 1-0 lead in the first on Hisanori Yasuda’s two-out single. Rakuten tied it in the third on Ryosuke Tatsumi’s single. The Marines regained the lead in the fifth on back-to-back run-scoring hits by Kyota Fujiwara and Koki Yamaguchi. Rakuten rallied in the seventh, as Itsuki Murabayashi’s two-out single drove in two runs. Ryuya Taira added an RBI single in the eighth. Shoma Fujihira recorded the final three outs for his 20th save, striking out two. Shota Suzuki took the loss. Rakuten improved to 36-52-1, while Lotte fell to 41-44-2.