SAPPORO (Interstat) — Kota Tatsu allowed two hits and two earned runs over seven innings, striking out seven, and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters beat the Saitama Seibu Lions 4-2 on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, at Sapporo Dome. Tatsu improved to 5-7 after walking two. Shinya Sugai fell to 2-3, yielding three earned runs and six hits in five innings with five strikeouts. Taisei Yanagawa pitched a perfect ninth for his 26th save, and Mizuki Hori struck out three in a scoreless inning. Seibu’s Tyler Nevin hit a two-run homer. Nippon-Ham’s Yuki Nomura went 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs. Nippon-Ham scored twice in the second and added single runs in the fourth and fifth. Seibu scored twice in the third. The game took 2 hours, 38 minutes before 29,723 at Sapporo Dome. Seibu had two hits, while Nippon-Ham had eight. Seibu is 73-56-4. Nippon-Ham is 73-57-3.