SAPPORO (Interstat) — The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters survived a three-run home run and a late Orix push to beat the Orix Buffaloes 5-3 in an afternoon game Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, at Sapporo Dome. The game drew 34,564 fans and took 3 hours, 18 minutes. Nippon-Ham improved to 74-59-3, while Orix fell to 63-71-2.

Takayuki Katoh earned the win for Nippon-Ham, improving to 12-3. Katoh worked six innings, allowed three hits and three earned runs, walked two and struck out five. Taisuke Yamaoka took the loss for Orix and dropped to 0-1. Katoh’s only major mistake was a three-run homer by Tomoya Noguchi that brought Orix back into the game. Noguchi’s blast accounted for all of Orix’s scoring.

Nippon-Ham grabbed control in the first inning. Haruki Nishikawa flew out to center and Reo Shibata flew out to left before Kotaro Kiyomiya hit a solo home run to right. Yuki Nomura followed with a single to shallow center, and Yuya Gunji walked. Chusei Mannami then singled to shallow left to score Kiyomiya. Shun Mizutani walked to load the bases, but Ruan Ohtsuka flew out to second to end the inning with Nippon-Ham ahead 2-0.

Orix went down in order in the first. Ryoma Nishikawa struck out swinging, Ryoto Kita flew out to center and Ryo Ohta struck out swinging. In the second, Yutaro Sugimoto grounded out to shortstop, Yuma Mune singled to shortstop, Kotaro Kurebayashi struck out swinging and Tomoya Noguchi flew out to center. Nippon-Ham threatened again in the second when Shu Yamagata singled to shallow left and Nishikawa walked, but Shibata lined out to second, Kiyomiya struck out swinging and Nomura grounded out to third.

Orix’s third inning was quiet. Ho Naito struck out swinging, Shuna Hori grounded out to first and Ryoma Nishikawa flew out to second. Nippon-Ham put two runners on in the third when Gunji walked and Mizutani walked, but Mannami lined out to third and Ohtsuka popped out to second. The Fighters kept the pressure on in the fourth. After Yamagata grounded out to third, Nishikawa walked and Shibata singled to shallow right. Kiyomiya struck out looking, but Nomura singled to shallow right to score Nishikawa. Gunji struck out swinging to end the inning.

Orix finally broke through when Mune walked and Kurebayashi singled to shallow left, setting up Noguchi’s three-run homer to right. The blast cut Nippon-Ham’s lead to 5-3 and silenced the home crowd briefly. Naito grounded out to first, Hori struck out swinging and Ryoma Nishikawa flew out to left. Nippon-Ham answered in the bottom half. Mannami doubled to left-center and Mizutani singled to shallow right, putting runners on first and third. Ohtsuka struck out swinging, Mizutani stole second, and Yamagata struck out swinging. Nishikawa then singled to shallow center to score Mannami, restoring a two-run cushion. Shibata grounded out to the pitcher.

Both offenses cooled in the middle innings. Orix went down in order in the sixth on groundouts by Kita and Ohta and a flyout by Mune after Sugimoto walked. Nippon-Ham also went quietly in the sixth, with Kiyomiya and Nomura striking out looking and Gunji grounding out to third. Orix threatened in the seventh when Noguchi singled to shallow center with one out, but Naito grounded into a double play. Nippon-Ham added an insurance run in the seventh. Mannami doubled on the left line and Mizutani was hit by a pitch. Ohtsuka sacrificed the runners over, and Tatsuki Mizuno lifted a sacrifice fly to center that scored Mannami. Nishikawa grounded out to first to end the inning.

Orix put together one last push in the eighth. Hori singled to shallow center, and after Ryoma Nishikawa flew out to center, Kita singled to shallow center. With runners on first and second, Ohta struck out swinging and Sugimoto grounded out to second. Nippon-Ham went down in order in the eighth on flyouts by Shibata, Kiyomiya and Nomura. In the ninth, Mune grounded out to second and Kurebayashi grounded out to third. Noguchi reached on an error at first with two outs, but Naito popped out to third to end the game.

Nippon-Ham’s bullpen finished the job behind Katoh. Mizuki Hori pitched one inning and allowed two hits with no earned runs and one strikeout. Yi-Lei Sun worked one inning and gave up one hit with no earned runs and one strikeout. Taisei Yanagawa pitched a hitless inning to earn his 27th save. Nippon-Ham finished with 10 hits. Mannami went 3-for-4 with one RBI. Nomura was 2-for-5 with one RBI. Nishikawa went 1-for-3 with one RBI. Gunji was 0-for-2 with two walks. Ohtsuka went 0-for-3. Ryota Isobata appeared as a pinch runner and did not record an at-bat.

Katoh’s six-inning start was the most important performance of the game. He limited Orix to three hits, and although the three-run homer briefly changed the game’s momentum, he left with the lead. Hori, Sun and Yanagawa combined for three scoreless innings. Mannami led the Nippon-Ham offense with three hits and an RBI. Nomura added two hits and an RBI. Nishikawa and Mizuno each drove in a run. Gunji reached base twice on walks, and Ohtsuka contributed a sacrifice bunt. Isobata entered as a pinch runner and did not bat.

Orix finished with six hits. Noguchi’s three-run homer was the team’s biggest hit. Mune, Kurebayashi, Hori and Kita also singled, while Ryoma Nishikawa and Ohta were held without hits. The Buffaloes had won the first two games of the series, beating Nippon-Ham 9-6 on Sept. 20 and 7-4 on Sept. 19. Nippon-Ham avoided a sweep and will host Tohoku Rakuten on Tuesday, Sept. 22. Orix will visit Chiba Lotte on Tuesday, Sept. 22. The teams meet again Sept. 26 at Orix.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Nippon-Ham 1, Orix 0. Interstat’s ELO system gave Nippon-Ham a 63.1 percent probability to win. Nippon-Ham was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The over/under line was 7.5, and the total score of 8 finished above that number.