TOKYO (Interstat) — Tetsuto Yamada hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Yakult Swallows defeated the Chunichi Dragons 5-3 on Saturday evening at Meiji Jingu Stadium. Yamada drove a pitch to left field after Yukihiro Iwata opened the inning with a single and Hideki Nagaoka moved him into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. The blast ended a back-and-forth game that featured three-run bursts from both teams and a strong finish from the Yakult bullpen. The Swallows improved to 59 wins, 76 losses and 2 ties. The Dragons fell to 59 wins, 80 losses and 2 ties.

Chunichi starter Hideaki Wakui kept Yakult off the scoreboard early. He struck out Shu Masuda and Haruto Tanaka in the first inning and added strikeouts of Ayuto Matsushita and Kazuya Maruyama in the second. Yakult managed only a single by Ruito Nishimura in the second, and he was caught stealing at second. Wakui also struck out Haruto Tanaka in the fourth and finished with six strikeouts over four innings, though he allowed three runs on five hits and two walks.

The Dragons had early chances against Yakult starter Hirotoshi Takanashi. Kaito Muramatsu singled in the first, but Takanashi struck out Seiya Hosokawa and Miguel Sano. In the second, Asahi Hanada singled and Yutaro Itayama walked, but Takanashi retired Shunta Mori, Yuta Ishii and Wakui to escape. Takanashi worked around traffic for much of the night. He gave up a leadoff single to Hanada in the second and a walk to Itayama, but Mori flew out to second, Ishii grounded out to second and Wakui struck out swinging. In the third, Hiroki Fukunaga singled and moved up on Muramatsu’s groundout, but Takanashi struck out Hosokawa, and Muramatsu was caught stealing at second to end the inning. In the fifth, Fukunaga singled again, but Muramatsu grounded out to the catcher, Hosokawa struck out, and Muramatsu was caught stealing. Takanashi exited after 5 1/3 innings, having allowed three runs on seven hits with two walks and six strikeouts. He did not factor in the decision.

Chunichi broke through when Shunta Mori hit a three-run home run to right. Mori finished 1 for 4 with one home run and three RBIs. The shot came after Hanada walked and Itayama singled, giving the Dragons a 3-0 lead. Yakult answered with three runs in the bottom half of the same inning to tie the score. Shu Masuda started the rally with a single, and after a strikeout, Ruito Nishimura singled. Ayuto Matsushita followed with an RBI single to shallow left, Kazuya Maruyama added an RBI single to shallow right, and Yudai Koga tied the game with a run-scoring groundout to second. Yoshihiro Akahane was intentionally walked later in the inning and stole second, but Takanashi grounded out to shortstop to end the threat.

From there, the bullpens traded zeros. Yorinosuke Sakurai pitched two scoreless innings for Chunichi, allowing one hit and one walk. Kohki Saitoh recorded two outs without allowing a hit. Seiya Yoshida pitched a scoreless inning, walking two and striking out one. For Yakult, Tomoya Hoshi tossed a scoreless inning with one walk. Noboru Shimizu followed with a scoreless inning, allowing one hit. Nash Walters also pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and one walk.

Chunichi had chances to regain the lead. In the sixth, Miguel Sano singled and Yutaro Itayama singled, but Shunta Mori and Yuta Ishii flew out to end the inning. In the eighth, Asahi Hanada walked with one out, but Itayama grounded into a double play. In the ninth, Ishii doubled with one out, and Hiroki Fukunaga walked, but Kaito Muramatsu grounded out to second to leave the runners stranded. The Dragons outhit the Swallows 10-8 but could not push across the go-ahead run.

Yakult also missed opportunities earlier. In the seventh, Yoshihiro Akahane walked and Domingo Santana walked, but Hideki Nagaoka struck out looking and Haruto Tanaka grounded into a double play. In the eighth, Matsushita and Maruyama drew walks, but Koga struck out swinging and Akahane flew out to center. Those missed chances set up the ninth-inning drama.

Walters earned the win, improving to 3 wins and 4 losses. Yuki Hashimoto took the loss, falling to 4 wins and 4 losses. Yamada finished 1 for 1 with one home run and two RBIs. Takanashi’s line featured five and one-third innings, seven hits, three earned runs, two walks and six strikeouts. Wakui matched him with four innings, five hits, three earned runs, two walks and six strikeouts. Sakurai’s two innings of scoreless relief kept Chunichi in the game. Hoshi, Shimizu and Walters each contributed a scoreless inning out of the Yakult bullpen.

The game took 3 hours, 44 minutes and drew an attendance of 29,328. Chunichi scored three runs in its breakout inning, and Yakult matched that total in the bottom half. The Dragons finished with 10 hits, while the Swallows had eight. Chunichi fell to 59-80-2, and Yakult improved to 59-76-2. The Swallows took the series against the Dragons.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Chunichi Dragons 10, Tokyo Yakult Swallows 9. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Chunichi with a 51.7 percent probability to win.