Rookie Hayato Takagi continued to impress on Sunday, when he allowed a run in seven innings for the Yomiuri Giants in a 4-1 win over the Central League-leading Tokyo Yakult Swallows.

Takagi (4-0), the Giants’ third-round draft pick last autumn, has now allowed six runs over 36 innings in five career starts. The right-hander kept Swallows hitters completely off-balance with a live fastball and slow, slider-like cutter. Takagi allowed three hits and a walk, while striking out three.

“My whole focus was to prepare well this week and pitch my kind of game and I did that,” said Takagi, who located well on both sides of the plate. “I’m very happy to be able to accomplish that in this kind of situation.”

Before 25,518 at Jingu Stadium, the Giants got on the board in the first against Swallows lefty Ryosuke Yagi (0-1), who was making his season debut. Tatsuhiko Kinjo singled to open the inning, was balked to second and sacrificed to third. Itaru Hashimoto plated him with a one-out double.

Yasuyuki Kataoka made it 2-0 in the third with a two-out home run. The right-handed batter hit on a fastball high and way off the end of the bat and his innocuous-looking fly carried out at the right-field foul pole.

Yakult got one back in the fifth on Kazuhiro Hatakeyama’s sixth home run of the season and the 100th of his career, but Takagi kept rolling until he was removed for a pinch hitter in the top of the eighth.

“The best thing tonight was shaking off the home run and getting back to work,” said Takagi, who was facing the Swallows for the second time this season and seems to get tougher each time out.

“I didn’t make any adjustments against them. I just tried to make each pitch count and pitch the way I’m capable of.”

Swallows manager Mitsuru Manaka said Takagi’s command and movement makes him a tough opponent.

“He gives you so many looks that it’s very hard to narrow down a particular pitch to look for,” the skipper said after falling short of a three-game sweep of the three-time defending CL champs.

“You don’t really expect to sweep them. I’ll take two out of three.”

The Giants tacked on two more runs in the eighth off reliever Ryo Akiyoshi. Seiji Kobayashi singled in one, and Kinjo took one for the team to drive in another when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Yagi allowed two runs on six hits and two walks over five innings, while striking out three.

Scott Mathieson worked a scoreless eighth for the Giants, while Hirokazu Sawamura closed it out in the ninth for his seventh save.

Tigers 6, Carp 0

At Mazda stadium, ace Atsushi Nomi (2-2) threw a six-hit shutout and Takashi Toritani had a three-run triple in a six-run sixth as Hanshin blanked Hiroshima. Carp starter Kris Johnson threw five scoreless innings on two hits but walked six batters.

BayStars 5, Dragons 3

At Yokohama Stadium, Yokohama broke a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning on back-to-back RBI doubles by Takayuki Kajitani and Yoshitomo Tsutsugo in its three-game sweep of Chunichi. Yokohama has won four in a row.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

Fighters 3, Buffaloes 1

At Sapporo Dome, Shohei Otani (5-0) allowed two singles in five scoreless innings to remain unbeaten in five starts as Hokkaido Nippon Ham beat Orix. The right-hander exited the game with muscle a muscle cramp in his right calf. Sho Nakata went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Eagles 7, Marines 1

At Kobo Stadium Miyagi, Tohoku Rakuten’s Kenji Tomura (2-1) allowed six hits and struck out two en route to his first career complete-game victory. The right-hander, who is in his sixth year, lost his shutout bid in the eighth on a leadoff home run by Chiba Lotte’s Luis Cruz.

Lions 9, Hawks 7

At Yafuoku Dome, Takeya Nakamura and Yuji Kaneko each drove in three runs as Seibu got past Fukuoka Softbank on a day when neither team’s starter made it through five innings. The Hawks’ Jason Standridge (3-2) took the loss, allowing seven runs in four innings. Lions starter Yosuke Okamoto surrendered three home runs.