HIROSHIMA (Interstat) — Masato Morishita pitched six strong innings and Shogo Sakakura hit a two-run home run as the Hiroshima Toyo Carp defeated the Yomiuri Giants 3-1 on Thursday evening at MAZDA Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima. The game, played before an announced crowd of 19,883, took 2 hours, 58 minutes. Hiroshima improved to 55-75-4. Yomiuri fell to 74-61-2. The Carp, playing at home, received a winning decision from Morishita, who improved to 7-11. Yuhi Nishidate took the loss for the Giants and dropped to 2-4. Daisuke Moriura earned his 22nd save with a scoreless ninth inning.

Morishita limited Yomiuri to one earned run on five hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out six. Nishidate was nearly as effective for much of the night, working 5 1/3 innings and allowing three earned runs on four hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts. Hiroshima finished with eight hits to Yomiuri’s six. The Giants had early chances but could not capitalize. Go Matsumoto singled in the first inning, but Morishita struck out Yuta Izuguchi and Bobby Dalbec around that hit. In the fourth, Matsumoto doubled and Izuguchi singled, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Dalbec popped out, Takumi Ohshiro flied out, Izuguchi stole second, and Riku Masuda struck out swinging to end the threat.

Hiroshima broke through in the bottom of the fourth. Shosei Nakamura led off with a double to left-center, and Sakakura followed with a home run to right. The two-run shot gave the Carp a 2-0 lead. Nishidate kept competing and finished with double-digit strikeouts, but the Giants could not solve Morishita until the sixth. Bobby Dalbec homered to right-center with one out in the top of the sixth, cutting the Hiroshima lead to 2-1. The Carp answered in the bottom half. Nakamura was hit by a pitch, Tai Sasaki walked, and after Shota Suekane popped out, Naru Katsuda singled to shallow right to drive in a run and restore a two-run cushion.

Katsuda finished 2-for-3 with one RBI. Sakakura went 2-for-4 with the home run and two RBIs. Nakamura scored twice and reached base via a double and a hit by pitch. Keisuke Sato added two singles for Hiroshima, while Suekane doubled and Sasaki drew a walk. Yomiuri’s offense came mostly from Dalbec’s home run, Matsumoto’s single and double, and singles from Izuguchi and Yoshihiro Maru. Izuguchi also stole a base. The Giants left runners in scoring position in the fourth and fifth and could not build a sustained rally against Morishita or the Hiroshima bullpen.

Atsushi Endoh pitched a scoreless seventh inning for Hiroshima, striking out one. Daichi Ohsera followed with a scoreless eighth, allowing one hit and striking out three. Moriura then retired the side in order in the ninth to close out the win. For Yomiuri, Yamato Shiroki allowed one hit in a scoreless inning, Hiromasa Funabasama recorded two outs while allowing one hit, and Tatsuya Ishikawa gave up two hits over a scoreless inning. The Giants’ relief work kept the deficit at two runs, but the offense managed only six hits and struck out 10 times against Hiroshima pitching.

The win gave Hiroshima two of the first three games in the series. Yomiuri won 2-1 on Wednesday after Hiroshima won 2-1 in 11 innings on Tuesday. The teams are scheduled to meet again Friday at MAZDA Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima. Hiroshima’s previous recent results included a 10-0 loss at Chunichi on Monday, an 8-5 loss at Chunichi on Sunday and a 5-1 win at Hanshin on Saturday. Yomiuri had won two of three entering Thursday, including a 3-2 home win over Tokyo Yakult on Sunday and a 14-1 home win over Chunichi on Saturday. Hiroshima is scheduled to play at Yokohama on Sunday. Yomiuri is set to host Tokyo Yakult on Sunday.

Morishita entered after a Sept. 18 loss at Hanshin in which he allowed two earned runs on four hits over seven innings with four walks and eight strikeouts. Before that, on Sept. 11 against Yokohama, he pitched seven scoreless innings with one walk and six strikeouts but did not receive a win. His six-inning outing Thursday kept Yomiuri off balance and allowed Hiroshima’s bullpen to protect the lead. The Carp also got a key defensive and offensive lift from Katsuda, whose two-out single in the sixth provided insurance.

Yomiuri entered the game after a 2-1 win over Hiroshima on Wednesday. The Giants’ bats went quiet after Dalbec’s homer. Maru struck out twice, Dalbec struck out three times, and Masuda struck out in a key spot in the fourth. Matsumoto was one of the few consistent threats, reaching base twice. Izuguchi also had multiple hits, but Yomiuri could not string together enough hits against Morishita, Endoh, Ohsera and Moriura. Hiroshima’s eight-hit attack was led by Sakakura and Katsuda, with contributions from Nakamura, Sato and Suekane.

The game was played in the evening and finished in 2:58. The attendance was 19,883. Hiroshima’s record moved to 55-75-4, while Yomiuri’s record moved to 74-61-2. The Carp’s win was their second in the last three meetings with the Giants. The teams have played frequently in recent weeks, and the result continued a tightly contested stretch between the two clubs. Hiroshima will stay home for the next game of the series, while Yomiuri remains on the road. Hiroshima’s bullpen combined for three scoreless innings, with Endoh, Ohsera and Moriura finishing the game.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Yomiuri Giants 9, Hiroshima Toyo Carp 6. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Yomiuri with a 57.7 percent probability to win. The actual result ran counter to both projections, as Hiroshima’s pitching held the Giants to one run and the Carp did enough offensively to secure the victory.