TOKOROZAWA, Japan (Interstat) — The Nippon-Ham Fighters erupted for 11 runs on 15 hits Thursday evening at Seibu Dome, routing the Seibu Lions 11-2 before a crowd of 27,020 in a game that took 3 hours, 6 minutes.

Winning pitcher Koki Kitayama allowed one earned run over six innings, striking out three and scattering seven hits to improve to 9-3. He retired the side in order in the third and fourth innings after a rough start. Chihiro Sumida took the loss, dropping to 7-6 after surrendering nine hits and four earned runs in four innings with three strikeouts.

The Fighters, who improved to 52-42, snapped a two-game skid and evened the three-game series after losing 4-3 in 10 innings Wednesday. The Lions fell to 52-38-1.

Seibu struck first in the bottom of the second inning. An-Ko Lin led off with a single to shallow left, and Taiga Hirasawa followed with a single to shallow right, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Seiya Watanabe then grounded to second base, and the Lions turned a double play, but Lin scored from third on the play to give Seibu a 1-0 lead. The threat continued when Sosuke Genda walked with two outs, but Takuya Hiruma grounded out to second to end the inning.

Nippon-Ham answered immediately in the top of the third. After two quick outs, Chusei Mannami singled to shallow center, and Kengo Yoshida singled to shallow left. Yuki Nomura then crushed a three-run home run to left field, putting the Fighters ahead 3-1. The inning continued with a groundout that turned into an error, giving Nippon-Ham another baserunner, but Naoki Arizono singled and Yuya Shintoh grounded out to third to strand two runners.

The Fighters blew the game open in the fourth inning. Tatsuki Mizuno reached on a two-base error to start the frame, but Taiki Narama flied out to catcher. Franmil Reyes then launched a two-run home run to left, extending the lead to 5-1. After Mannami grounded out, Yoshida singled and stole second, Nomura walked, and Ryohei Hosokawa singled to shallow left, scoring two more for a 7-1 advantage. Arizono struck out to end the inning.

Sumida was lifted after four innings, having allowed four earned runs. Haruto Yamada and Yuta Nakamura each threw a scoreless inning in relief for Seibu, Nakamura striking out three. But the damage had been done.

Nippon-Ham added four more runs in the sixth inning against reliever Taiga Ueda. With no outs, Reyes singled, and Mannami blasted a two-run homer to left, his second home run of the game, making it 9-1. After Yoshida flied out and Nomura flied out, Hosokawa walked, Arizono singled, and Shintoh doubled to left-center, driving in two more for an 11-1 lead. Mizuno grounded out to first to end the inning.

Kitayama, who retired eight straight batters at one point, worked around a two-out double by Lin in the sixth before giving way to the bullpen. Tsubasa Nabatame pitched a scoreless seventh, allowing two hits and one earned run while striking out one. Shoma Kanemura threw a scoreless eighth, and Mizuki Hori struck out one in a perfect ninth inning.

Seibu’s only other run came in the bottom of the ninth when Tyler Nevin led off with a solo home run to left-center. Hirasawa followed with a single, but Seiya Watanabe popped out and Shuta Tonosaki struck out swinging to end the game.

Arizono went 2 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base. Daigo Kamikawabata entered as a pinch runner and played second base, going 0 for 1. For Seibu, Lin and Hirasawa each had two hits.

The game featured three home runs by the Fighters: Nomura’s three-run shot in the third, Reyes’ two-run homer in the fourth, and Mannami’s two-run blast in the sixth. Nippon-Ham also stole two bases, one by Arizono and one by Yoshida.

The victory was the Fighters’ fifth in their last seven games against the Lions, dating to a series in late June. Nippon-Ham now holds a 5-3 advantage in the season series, with four games remaining between the clubs. The Lions, who had won three of their previous four games, struggled to generate consistent offense outside of Nevin’s ninth-inning homer.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Seibu 5, Nippon-Ham 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Nippon-Ham a 52.90 percent probability to win. Nippon-Ham was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of plus 1.5. The total of 11 runs went over the over/under line of 5.5.