YOKOHAMA (Interstat) — Yusuke Ohyama went 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs, Hiroto Saiki earned the win and the Hanshin Tigers defeated the Yokohama BayStars 8-3 on Saturday afternoon at Yokohama Stadium. Hanshin improved to 76-59-1. Yokohama dropped to 69-67-3. Attendance was 33,510. The game took 3 hours, 24 minutes. Hanshin finished with 13 hits, while Yokohama had five. Saiki improved to 9-5. Naoki Wakamatsu fell to 0-1.

The Tigers started quickly against Yokohama starter Shuto Ogata. Koji Chikamoto opened the game with a double down the right-field line, and Takumu Nakano followed with a single to shallow center. After Shota Morishita flied out to left, Teruaki Sato lifted a sacrifice fly to center that scored Chikamoto. Nakano stole second, and Ohyama singled to shallow right to bring home Nakano for a 2-0 lead. Nozomu Takatera then flied out to center to end the inning. Saiki took the mound and worked a scoreless first, striking out Ryuki Watarai looking before retiring Shugo Maki on a fly ball to shortstop. Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh walked, and Jerar Encarnacion singled to shallow right, but Keita Sano struck out swinging to end the threat.

Hanshin put together a threat in the second when Hiyu Motoyama singled to shallow center, but Seishiro Sakamoto grounded into a double play and Saiki struck out looking. Yokohama’s Tatsuo Ebina singled to shallow center in the bottom half, but Takuma Hayashi flied out, Takeru Furuichi grounded out to third and Ogata grounded out to second. The Tigers went down in order in the third on a strikeout and two fly outs. The BayStars then scored three runs in the third to move ahead 3-2.

Ohyama tied the game again in the fourth with a solo home run to left field. Takatera struck out swinging and Motoyama grounded out to second to end the inning. In the bottom half, Sano doubled to right-center, Ebina singled to shallow center to drive in a run, and Hayashi walked. Furuichi popped out to first, Ogata sacrificed the runners over, and Watarai reached on an error, but Maki flied out to center to leave the runners stranded. Ogata completed five innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits with one walk and five strikeouts.

Hanshin threatened in the fifth when Sakamoto walked, but Saiki struck out on a failed bunt attempt, Chikamoto flied out to center and Nakano grounded out to second. Yokohama went down in order in the fifth on three fly outs to right by Tsutsugoh, Encarnacion and Sano. In the third, Chikamoto struck out swinging, Nakano flied out to left and Morishita struck out swinging. Watarai and Maki flied out to center in the bottom half, Tsutsugoh walked and Encarnacion flied out to right.

Saiki left after five with the game tied, and the Hanshin bullpen took over from there. The Tigers then broke the game open in the sixth. Morishita drew a leadoff walk, and Sato doubled down the left-field line to put runners on second and third. Ohyama followed with a two-run double down the right-field line, scoring both runners. Nozomu Takatera walked, Hiyu Motoyama sacrificed the runners over, and Seishiro Sakamoto doubled to left to drive in two more. Seiya Kinami grounded out to shortstop, Chikamoto walked, and Nakano singled to shallow center to load the bases, but Morishita grounded out to shortstop to end the inning. The four-run inning pushed Hanshin ahead 7-3 and put the game out of reach. Wakamatsu took the loss after the rally.

Sato added insurance in the seventh with a home run to right-center. Ohyama and Takatera followed with singles, and Motoyama sacrificed them over. Sakamoto flied out to center, and Ukyo Maegawa struck out looking to end the inning. Yokohama could not answer. Shion Matsuo grounded out to third, Watarai walked, and Maki and Tsutsugoh grounded out to shortstop. In the eighth, Chikamoto singled to shallow center, but Nakano flied out to right, Morishita struck out swinging and Sato grounded out to second. Encarnacion grounded out to second, Sano walked, Ebina flied out to second and Hayashi walked before Toshiro Miyazaki grounded out to third.

Hanshin went quietly in the ninth on three groundouts. Yokohama’s final chance ended with Matsuo grounding out to second, Watarai striking out swinging and Maki striking out swinging. Hanshin’s bullpen protected the lead. Taisei Kudo struck out two in a hitless inning. Rafael Dolis walked two in a hitless inning. Rito Kinoshita allowed one hit in a scoreless inning. Anderson Severino walked one in a hitless inning. Kosuke Baba pitched a hitless inning for Yokohama. Sato finished 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Sakamoto went 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Ohyama’s four-RBI performance led the offense, while Saiki’s five-inning effort earned him the win.

The BayStars managed five hits in the game. They scored all three of their runs in the third, but could not generate another rally against Hanshin’s relief corps. Kudo, Dolis, Kinoshita and Severino combined for four scoreless innings. Hanshin’s defense and bullpen kept Yokohama off the scoreboard over the final six innings. The Tigers had 13 hits, including extra-base hits from Chikamoto, Sato, Ohyama and Sakamoto. The result gave Hanshin a split of the first two games of the series. The Tigers had lost the opener at Yokohama, then responded with a balanced offensive effort. Yokohama starter Shuto Ogata kept his team close through five, but the BayStars could not solve Hanshin’s bullpen. Hanshin’s 13-hit attack included extra-base hits from Chikamoto, Sato, Ohyama and Sakamoto. The BayStars drew six walks but left multiple runners on base. Yokohama left runners in scoring position in several innings.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Hanshin Tigers 12, Yokohama BayStars 8. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Hanshin with a 50.4 percent probability to win.