YOKOHAMA (Interstat) — Keita Sano hit a first-inning grand slam and Yu Takeda combined with three relievers on a five-hit shutout as the home Yokohama BayStars defeated the visiting Yomiuri Giants 5-0 on Sunday evening at Yokohama Stadium. Yokohama scored four runs in the first and one in the second. Yomiuri did not score.

The BayStars scored all the runs they needed in the bottom of the first. Ryuki Watarai led off with a single to shallow center. Tatsuo Ebina was hit by a pitch, and Shugo Maki walked to load the bases. Sano then drove a pitch to right for a grand slam, bringing home four runs. Toshiro Miyazaki followed with a single on the right line. Shion Matsuo struck out swinging, and Asahi Miyashita grounded out to shortstop for a double play that ended the inning. Yomiuri had gone down in order in the top of the first when Shunsuke Urata grounded out to first, Trey Cabbage flew out to left, and Bobby Dalbec struck out swinging.

Yokohama added another run in the second. Tomoya Inoue reached on an error after grounding out to second. Yu Takeda struck out on a failed bunt attempt. Watarai singled to shallow center, moving Inoue to third. Ebina lifted a sacrifice fly to right that scored Inoue. Maki then grounded out to shortstop. Yomiuri put together a small chance in the top of the second when Yuta Izuguchi walked with two outs, but Yoshihiro Maru grounded out to first to end the threat.

Yomiuri went down in order in the third. Go Matsumoto struck out looking, Shinnosuke Ogasawara flew out to shortstop, and Urata struck out swinging. Yokohama also went quietly in the third when Sano grounded out to second, Miyazaki grounded out to third, and Matsuo grounded out to third. In the fourth, Cabbage and Dalbec each struck out swinging before Takumi Ohshiro walked. Hayato Sakamoto singled to shallow left, but Izuguchi flew out to left to strand both runners. Yokohama’s fourth ended with Miyashita grounding out to third, Inoue grounding out to pitcher, and Takeda striking out looking.

The Giants threatened in the fifth. Maru singled to third and Matsumoto singled to shallow right to put runners on first and second. Raito Nakayama flew out to center, Urata lined out to shortstop, and Cabbage flew out to center. Yokohama answered with a quiet fifth as Watarai flew out to right, Ebina grounded out to shortstop, and Maki struck out swinging. In the sixth, Dalbec singled to shallow center, but Ohshiro flew out to left and Sakamoto grounded into a double play. The BayStars put two runners on in the bottom half when Sano singled to shallow center and Matsuo singled to shallow left, but Miyashita grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Yomiuri’s best remaining chance came in the seventh. Izuguchi grounded out to first before Maru doubled to left and Matsumoto walked. Riku Masuda flew out to left, and Shunsuke Sasaki flew out to left. Yokohama went down in order in the seventh when Inoue flew out to left, Kazuki Kamizato struck out swinging, and Watarai grounded out to second. In the eighth, Cabbage, Dalbec and Ohshiro all struck out. Yokohama got a two-out double from Sano in the eighth, but Miyazaki grounded out to shortstop. In the ninth, Sakamoto flew out to left, Izuguchi walked, Maru struck out swinging, and Matsumoto grounded out to shortstop.

Shinnosuke Ogasawara started for Yomiuri and took the loss. He pitched four innings, allowed four hits and four earned runs, walked one and struck out three. Ogasawara was charged with four earned runs; Yokohama’s second-inning run was unearned after the error. The Giants bullpen kept the BayStars off the scoreboard the rest of the way. Takahiro Norimoto pitched a scoreless inning with one strikeout. Hiromasa Funabasama allowed two hits in a scoreless inning. Ryuta Heinai worked a scoreless inning with one strikeout. Yamato Shiroki allowed one hit in a scoreless inning with one strikeout.

Takeda was sharp over 6 2/3 innings. He allowed five hits, no earned runs, walked three and struck out six. Teruki Yoshino followed with a perfect inning and struck out three. Koh Nakagawa recorded the final out of the seventh with one-third of an inning. Naoki Wakamatsu pitched the ninth, allowing no hits, one walk and one strikeout. Yokohama finished with seven hits. Sano went 3-for-4 with one home run and four RBIs. Watarai had two singles and scored a run. Miyazaki and Matsuo each added a single. The BayStars grounded into two double plays, both on grounders by Miyashita. The first ended the bottom of the first after the grand slam, and the second ended the bottom of the sixth after singles by Sano and Matsuo.

Yomiuri finished with five hits. Sakamoto singled in the fourth. Maru singled in the fifth and doubled in the seventh. Matsumoto singled in the fifth. Dalbec singled in the sixth. The Giants left runners on base in the fourth, fifth, seventh and ninth. The game took 2 hours, 36 minutes and was played before an announced attendance of 32,727. The evening contest at Yokohama Stadium moved the BayStars to 62-63-3 on the season. The Giants fell to 70-57-2. Takeda improved to 3-3 with the win. Ogasawara dropped to 4-4 with the loss.

Yomiuri next stays on the road to face Yokohama again on Monday, Sept. 14, and Tuesday, Sept. 15. Yokohama also continues the series at home against Yomiuri on those same dates before traveling to Tokyo Yakult on Thursday, Sept. 17. The Giants are scheduled to return home to face Chunichi on Friday, Sept. 18. The BayStars are set to host Tokyo Yakult on Friday, Sept. 18, and Saturday, Sept. 19, then visit Hanshin on Sunday, Sept. 20, and Monday, Sept. 21.

Before the game, Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Yokohama BayStars 6, Yomiuri Giants 5. Interstat’s ELO system projected Yokohama with a 52.3 percent probability to win.