TOKYO (Interstat) — Hideki Nagaoka hit a two-run home run in the third inning, and the Yakult Swallows held on to beat the Yokohama BayStars 2-1 on Sunday evening at Meiji Jingu Stadium.

Nagaoka’s blast to right field in the bottom of the third gave Yakult a 2-0 lead, and that proved to be enough as the Swallows won their third straight game against their Central League rivals. The victory improved Yakult’s season record to 49-55-1, while Yokohama fell to 48-56-3 with the loss.

Yakult starting pitcher Kengo Matsumoto earned the win, improving to 6-4. He worked more than five innings, allowing one earned run on eight hits while striking out four. Matsumoto left with the lead and watched his bullpen finish the job. Noboru Shimizu pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his second save of the season, striking out one.

Yokohama starting pitcher Hiromi Katayama took the loss, dropping to 2-2. He allowed one earned run on five hits over 5.1 innings, striking out four. Katayama was sharp but made one mistake that cost him: the pitch Nagaoka drove over the fence.

The game was a tight pitcher’s duel from the start. Yokohama put runners on base in the first inning but could not score. Ryuki Watarai flied out to open the game, then Shugo Maki singled to shallow center and Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh singled to shallow left. But Jerar Encarnacion flied out to center and Keita Sano grounded out to second, ending the threat.

Yakult threatened in the bottom of the first as Takeshi Miyamoto walked with two outs, but Shu Masuda grounded out to shortstop. The score stayed 0-0 into the third.

Yokohama had another chance in the top of the third. Watarai singled to shallow center with no outs, but Shugo Maki flied out to center. Watarai was then caught stealing at second for the second out. Tsutsugoh singled to shallow right, but Encarnacion struck out looking to end the inning.

The Swallows broke through in the bottom of the third. After Matsumoto struck out swinging to lead off the inning, Ryusei Takeoka reached on a grounder that saw an error. Nagaoka followed and launched a home run to right, scoring Takeoka and giving Yakult a 2-0 lead. The Swallows threatened again later in the inning, but Yukihiro Iwata grounded out and Miyamoto struck out to leave the score at 2-0.

Yokohama’s best chance came in the top of the sixth. Maki singled to shallow left, and Tsutsugoh singled to shallow left to put runners on first and second. Encarnacion then singled to shallow center, scoring Maki and cutting the deficit to 2-1. But the BayStars could not push across the tying run. Keita Sano grounded out to second, Atsushi Katsumata grounded out to third, and Takuma Hayashi popped out to shortstop, leaving runners stranded.

The BayStars continued to threaten in the later innings. In the top of the seventh, Watarai singled with two outs, but Maki flied out to right. In the eighth, Sano singled with two outs, but Katsumata flied out to right. In the ninth, the BayStars went quietly. Takuma Hayashi struck out, Toshiro Miyazaki grounded out to third, and Asahi Miyashita flied out to center to end the game.

Yakult’s bullpen was effective after Matsumoto departed. Tomoya Hoshi pitched a scoreless inning, allowing one hit while striking out one. Jesus Liranzo also worked a scoreless inning, giving up one hit with a strikeout. Yuki Ishihara added a scoreless inning, and Shimizu closed the door in the ninth.

Yokohama’s relief corps also kept the game close. Kosuke Baba allowed one hit over 0.2 innings with a strikeout. Jose Ruiz allowed one hit over one inning with a strikeout. Masumi Hamachi pitched a scoreless inning with no hits allowed.

Nagaoka finished the game 1-for-4 with the home run and two RBIs. His two runs batted in accounted for all of Yakult’s scoring. The Swallows collected seven hits in the game. Yukihiro Iwata had a bunt hit, and Ruito Nishimura doubled to left-center in the fourth. Kyo Suzuki singled in the eighth and stole second base, but was left stranded.

Yokohama totaled 10 hits on the night. Maki, Tsutsugoh, and Watarai each had multiple hits, while Encarnacion delivered the key single that drove in the lone run. Katsumata also singled in the second. But the BayStars were unable to string together enough hits in a single inning to overcome Nagaoka’s homer.

The game took 3 hours and 8 minutes to play before an announced crowd of 28,993 at Meiji Jingu Stadium.

Yokohama entered the game having lost the first two games of this series in Tokyo, falling 4-3 on Saturday and 7-2 on Friday. The BayStars had won the previous two series matchups in July, taking all three games at home. Yakult, meanwhile, had lost five straight games before winning the first two games of this series, and the Swallows made it three in a row with Sunday’s win.

The victory gave Yakult its third consecutive win over Yokohama, after the Swallows had been swept by the BayStars in a three-game set on July 17-19. It also moved Yakult one game above .500 at home in recent matchups against Yokohama, with the season series now standing with Yakult ahead.

Both teams continue their seasons Tuesday. Yokohama will return home to face the Yomiuri Giants, while Yakult will travel to face the Hanshin Tigers.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Yokohama BayStars 6, Tokyo Yakult Swallows 3. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Yokohama with a 55.60 percent probability to win. Yakult had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +1.5. The total score of 2 went over the over/under line of 8.5.