CHIBA, Japan (Interstat) — Shuta Takano allowed one earned run over six innings and the Chiba Lotte Marines used a three-run fourth inning to beat the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 6-1 on Sunday evening at Chiba Marine Stadium.

Takano, who improved to 4-4, gave up five hits, walked one and struck out eight. He retired the side in order in the fifth and sixth and worked around two singles in the fourth and a leadoff single in the first. Kohei Arihara, 7-9, took the loss for Nippon-Ham. He allowed four earned runs on eight hits over six innings, walking one and striking out one. The Fighters fell to 76-62-3. Lotte improved to 61-71-3.

Nippon-Ham opened the game with Tatsuki Mizuno’s single to shallow right, but Kazuki Miyazaki lined out to second, Kotaro Kiyomiya struck out looking and Yuki Nomura struck out swinging. Lotte answered in the bottom of the first. Misho Nishikawa singled to second and Koki Yamaguchi singled to shallow left before Kyota Fujiwara popped out to third and Toshiya Satoh flew out to second. Ryusei Terachi then doubled on the left-field line to score Nishikawa. Ryusei Ogawa grounded out to second to end the inning.

The Fighters went down in order in the second. Naoki Arizono struck out looking, Chusei Mannami flew out to second and Shu Yamagata grounded out to third. Lotte put a runner on when Akito Takabe singled to shallow right with no outs, but Kouta Inoue flew out to right, Tsuyoshi Yamasaki flew out to center and Nishikawa flew out to right.

Nippon-Ham tied the game in the third. Yuya Shintoh homered to left-center with no outs for the Fighters’ only run. Kota Yazawa grounded out to second, Mizuno flew out to right and Miyazaki singled to shallow right. Kiyomiya walked, but Nomura struck out swinging to end the threat. Lotte went quietly in the bottom half. Yamaguchi walked, but Fujiwara grounded into a double play and Satoh grounded out to first.

The Marines broke the game open in the fourth. Terachi singled to shallow center, Ogawa sacrificed him to second and Takabe singled to shallow center to put runners on the corners. Inoue then singled to shallow left to score Terachi. Yamasaki sacrificed both runners into scoring position, and Nishikawa was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Yamaguchi followed with a two-run single to shallow left, giving Lotte a 4-1 lead. Fujiwara grounded out to second to end the inning.

Nippon-Ham had a chance in the top of the fourth when Mannami singled to shallow left and Yamagata singled to shallow center with one out. Shintoh struck out looking and Yazawa grounded out to shortstop, ending the rally. Lotte then retired the side in order in the fifth. Satoh grounded out to second, Terachi grounded out to shortstop and Ogawa flew out to center.

In the top of the sixth, Nomura flew out to right, Taiki Narama flew out to second and Mannami struck out swinging. Lotte also went in order in the sixth. Takabe grounded out to second, Inoue flew out to center and Yamasaki struck out swinging.

The Fighters went down in order again in the seventh. Yamagata struck out looking, Shintoh grounded out to shortstop and Yazawa grounded out to second. Lotte put a runner on when Fujiwara walked with two outs, but Satoh grounded out to first. In the top of the eighth, Mizuno grounded out to second, Miyazaki grounded out to shortstop and Kiyomiya flew out to center.

Lotte added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth. Terachi singled to shallow right and Ogawa walked before Takabe doubled to left-center, scoring both runners. Kou Matsukawa struck out swinging and Yamasaki grounded out to second, but Lotte had built a 6-1 lead.

Nippon-Ham tried to rally in the ninth. Nomura singled to shallow left, but Narama struck out swinging, Mannami struck out swinging and Haruki Nishikawa struck out swinging to end the game. Lotte’s bullpen finished with four scoreless innings. Kaishu Takahashi struck out one in a scoreless inning, Naoya Masuda allowed one hit but struck out three in a scoreless inning, and Shota Suzuki pitched a scoreless inning without allowing a hit.

Takabe finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Terachi also went 3-for-4 with one RBI. Yamaguchi drove in two runs, and Inoue added one RBI. Shintoh went 1-for-3 with a home run and one RBI for Nippon-Ham. Nippon-Ham’s bullpen had some strong moments. Takahide Ikeda pitched one scoreless inning, allowing no hits, walking one and striking out two. Jay Ohkawa recorded two outs with no hits, no walks and one strikeout.

The game took 2 hours, 42 minutes and drew an announced attendance of 26,174. Lotte entered after a loss at Seibu, while Nippon-Ham entered after a shutout win at Orix. The teams are scheduled to meet again at Chiba Marine Stadium in their next game.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 5, Chiba Lotte Marines 6. Interstat’s ELO system had given Nippon-Ham a 60.1 percent probability to win. The Marines instead won by five runs behind Takano’s strong start and a timely three-run fourth.