HIROSHIMA, Japan (Interstat) — Seiya Hosokawa homered twice and Yuta Ishii drove in four runs as the Chunichi Dragons beat the Hiroshima Carp 7-1 on Saturday night at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium.

Hosokawa put Chunichi ahead in the first inning with a home run to left-center, giving the Dragons an early edge. The lead grew in the third when Hiroki Fukunaga was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on Kaito Muramatsu’s two-out single to shallow right.

The decisive moment came in the fourth inning. With one out, Takaya Ishikawa singled to put runners at first and second. Yuki Okabayashi flied out for the second out, but Ishii followed with a three-run home run to left-center that stretched the Dragons’ lead to five runs. That swing gave Chunichi a comfortable margin and chased any early pressure away from starter Kyle Muller.

Hosokawa added his second home run, a solo shot to right-center with two outs in the fifth, and the Dragons scored again in the sixth. Yutaro Itayama doubled to lead off the inning, moved to third on a groundout and scored on Ishii’s two-out single to left, making it 7-0.

Hiroshima put together its best chance in the fourth inning. Kaito Kozono walked, Tai Sasaki singled and Taiki Mochimaru singled to load the bases with one out. Shoichi Futamata struck out swinging, and Norihiko Nabara grounded out to first to end the inning without a run. The Carp had also reached scoring position earlier in the game but could not convert.

Hiroshima scored its only run in the fifth inning against Muller. Ryosuke Kikuchi reached on an error and advanced to second, then scored when Elehuris Montero hit a sacrifice fly to left after Shogo Sakakura singled to shallow center. That cut the deficit to 7-1, but the Carp could not close further.

Muller earned the win and improved to 3-6. He pitched five innings, allowed six hits and one unearned run and struck out four. The Chunichi bullpen took over from there, with Kento Fujishima, Albert Abreu, Sho Kusaka and Seiya Yoshida combining to hold Hiroshima scoreless the rest of the way. Kusaka allowed one hit and struck out one in his inning, and Yoshida struck out one in a clean frame.

Yuta Saitoh took the loss for Hiroshima and fell to 1-2. The Carp used several relievers after Saitoh departed, with Seiya Akagi, Atsushi Endoh and Takehisa Masuda each pitching a scoreless inning, but the early deficit proved too large.

Chunichi hitters finished with 10 hits, while Hiroshima managed seven. The Dragons also got production from the top of the order and the middle of the lineup, with Muramatsu driving in a run with a single in the third and Fukunaga scoring after reaching base on a hit-by-pitch. Toshiki Abe singled in the fourth and scored on Ishii’s home run. Itayama doubled and came home in the sixth to push the lead to seven.

The game, played in the evening after Friday’s series opener, gave Chunichi a response after a 3-1 loss to the Carp on Friday. The Dragons improved their season record to 39-56-1, while Hiroshima slipped to 36-51-2. The two teams will play the series finale Sunday afternoon at the same ballpark.

Hiroshima had several early opportunities but failed to produce. In the second inning, Kozono singled to shortstop and Sasaki singled to shallow right, putting runners at first and second with no outs. Mochimaru struck out, Saitoh struck out on a failed bunt and Nabara flied out to center to end the threat. The Carp again threatened in the fifth with the error and the sacrifice fly, but they could not add anything against the bullpen.

In the eighth and ninth innings, Hiroshima put at least one runner on base but could not score. The Carp got a walk from Shu Kubo to open the ninth, and Shogo Akiyama singled with two outs to put runners at first and third, but Sandro Fabian flied out to right to end the game.

The defeat extended a difficult stretch for Hiroshima, which has split recent games but remains below .500. Chunichi, meanwhile, received a strong bounce-back performance from its pitching staff after allowing three runs in the opener. The Dragons were also helped by a pair of home runs that provided a cushion early enough for the bullpen to settle into rhythm.

Muller threw 86 pitches across his five innings and kept the Carp off the scoreboard aside from the unearned run in the fifth. His ability to pitch around trouble was important, especially in the first and fourth innings. In the first, Hiroshima put two runners on with one out, but Shogo Sakakura grounded out to first and Montero lined out to second. In the fourth, with the bases loaded and one out, the Carp failed to score, and that was the last time they had a genuine chance to change the momentum.

Ishii’s three-run homer in the fourth was the largest single swing of the game and gave him four RBIs for the night. Hosokawa’s two home runs gave him two RBIs and kept the offense rolling at different points in the game. The Dragons scored in five separate innings, with single runs in the first, third, fifth and sixth and three runs in the fourth.

Chunichi’s offensive approach showed patience and aggression. The team took advantage of a hit-by-pitch and a stolen base in the third inning, and multiple two-out hits extended innings. Ishii’s two-out production in the fourth was particularly damaging because it came right after the second out and turned a manageable deficit into a rout.

The game drew an announced crowd of 31,830 and lasted 3 hours 1 minute. The atmosphere at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium remained lively even as the visitors built their lead, though the home crowd had little to celebrate after the fourth inning.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Chunichi 4, Hiroshima 3. Interstat’s ELO system had given Hiroshima a 52.60 percent probability to win. Chunichi was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +1.5. The total of eight runs went over the over/under line of 7.5.