TOKOROZAWA, Japan (Interstat) — Kohei Arihara allowed one earned run on seven hits over six innings, and the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters used an early offensive burst to beat the Saitama Seibu Lions 7-1 on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 13, at Seibu Dome.

The Fighters struck first in the opening inning when Taiki Narama hit a solo home run to left. Shu Yamagata grounded out to third to begin the game, and after Narama’s homer, Shun Mizutani grounded out to shortstop and Franmil Reyes struck out swinging. Nippon Ham added two more in the second after Kotaro Kiyomiya struck out. Yuya Gunji singled to shallow center, Tatsuki Mizuno doubled on the left line, and Yuya Shintoh put down a sacrifice bunt to third that brought home two runs. Ryota Isobata followed with a single to shallow center, but he was caught stealing second to end the inning.

Seibu had chances early but could not capitalize. Alexander Canario grounded out to third in the first, Natsuo Takizawa singled, Taiga Kojima grounded out to the pitcher, and Tyler Nevin grounded out to third. In the second, Seiya Watanabe struck out, An-Ko Lin grounded out to second, Takuya Hiruma singled to shallow right, and Sosuke Genda grounded out to second. The Lions threatened in the third when Manaya Nishikawa flew out to right, Canario doubled on the left line, and Takizawa singled to shallow right. Kojima lined out to first to end the threat. Seibu stranded runners in scoring position in the first and third, a pattern that continued throughout the afternoon.

Nippon Ham extended its lead in the third. Yamagata singled to shallow left, Narama sacrificed him to second with a bunt to the pitcher, and Mizutani singled to shallow right to score a run. Reyes then grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Fighters led 4-0 before Seibu got on the board in the fourth. Nevin hit a solo home run to left, cutting the deficit to three. Watanabe grounded out to second, Lin struck out swinging, and Hiruma flew out to third.

The middle innings were quieter. Nippon Ham went down in the fourth on a Kiyomiya flyout, a Gunji walk, a Mizuno flyout to left, and a Shintoh groundout to shortstop. In the fifth, Isobata grounded out to third, Yamagata walked, Narama flew out to right, and Mizutani grounded out to shortstop. Seibu’s fifth began with Genda singling to shallow left. Nishikawa struck out, Genda stole second, Canario struck out, and Takizawa grounded out to second. Arihara kept the Lions from building a rally through six innings, mixing in four strikeouts and relying on his defense behind him.

Nippon Ham broke the game open in the sixth. Reyes flew out to center, but Kiyomiya followed with a solo home run to right. Gunji doubled to left-center, and Mizuno doubled to left-center to drive him in. Shintoh struck out looking, Mizuno stole third, and Isobata singled to shallow right to score another run. Yamagata flew out to third to end the inning, but the Fighters had a 7-1 lead. Kiyomiya finished 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. Mizuno went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two stolen bases, and Isobata added an RBI single.

Seibu tried to answer in the sixth when Kojima flew out to center, Nevin singled to shallow right, Watanabe flew out to center, and Lin grounded out to first. Nippon Ham’s bullpen then took over. Yi-Lei Sun worked a perfect seventh, striking out Nishikawa after Hiruma and Genda flew out. Naoki Miyanishi pitched the eighth and struck out Canario and Takizawa around a Kojima single. Nevin grounded out to third to end that inning. Seigi Tanaka retired the side in order in the ninth on flyouts by Watanabe, Lin and Hiruma.

Arihara (7-7) delivered the kind of start Nippon Ham needed. The right-hander worked six innings, allowed seven hits and one earned run, and struck out four. He allowed at least one hit in several innings but limited the damage, getting key groundouts when Seibu threatened. Natsuki Takeuchi (11-7) took the loss for Seibu. Seibu’s bullpen had some effective moments. Wataru Matsumoto pitched two scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out four. Yuta Nakamura struck out two in a perfect inning, and Shota Hamaya recorded one strikeout while allowing one hit in two-thirds of an inning. Despite those efforts, the Lions could not recover from the early deficit.

Nippon Ham finished with 12 hits and two sacrifice hits, while Seibu had eight hits. Nevin went 2-for-4 with the home run and one RBI for Seibu. Canario doubled, while Takizawa, Kojima, Watanabe, Hiruma and Genda each had hits. The Lions stole one base when Genda took second in the fifth. Nippon Ham also ran aggressively, with Mizuno stealing third in the sixth and second in the eighth. The Fighters’ defense and bullpen protected the lead over the final three innings. In the ninth, Yuki Nomura struck out, Reo Shibata grounded out to second, and Mizutani struck out swinging.

The game was played before 27,541 at Seibu Dome and took 3 hours, 5 minutes. With the win, Nippon Ham improved to 72-56-3. Seibu fell to 73-54-4. The victory gave the Fighters a split of the weekend series after the teams played to a 3-3 tie in 12 innings on Saturday.

The result continued a busy stretch for both Pacific League clubs. Nippon Ham had dropped three straight at Fukuoka Softbank before winning at Tohoku Rakuten on Sept. 6. Seibu had won four of five against Orix before falling 5-4 on Friday and tying the Fighters on Saturday. The Lions remain ahead of Nippon Ham in the standings by percentage points, though both teams have positioned themselves near the top of the league. Nippon Ham will host Chiba Lotte on Tuesday before welcoming Seibu on Thursday. Seibu will visit Tohoku Rakuten on Tuesday before traveling to Nippon Ham on Thursday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Saitama Seibu Lions 6, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 5. Interstat’s ELO system had given Nippon Ham a 52.4 percent probability to win.