Yasuhiro “Ryan” Ogawa took a one-hit shutout into the ninth inning to earn the win as the Tokyo Yakult Swallows beat the Yokohama BayStars 3-1 on Friday night.

On a rainy night at Jingu Stadium, Ogawa (2-0) didn’t allow a base runner until after the Swallows broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning. The right-hander surrendered an unearned run over 8⅓ innings. He allowed three hits, and struck out seven without issuing a walk.

Yuhei Takai opened the scoring by driving a high pitch the opposite way over the left-field fence for his second home run of the game. BayStars starter Shoichi Ino walked two more batters to bring Ogawa to the plate with two on and two out. Ogawa grounded a single up the middle to make it a 2-0 game.

Leadoff man Tetsuto Yamada followed with an RBI single that made it 3-0 Yakult.

With one out and two on in the ninth, shortstop Keiji Obiki’s throwing error allowed a run to score and the batter to reach as Ogawa left the mound after 117 pitches. Tony Barnette, however, needed just one pitch to end the game. The right-hander caught a soft liner and turned a double play to record his sixth save.

The win lifted Yakult into first place in the Central League.

Carp 1, Dragons 0

At Mazda Stadium, Yoshihiro Maru led off the first inning with a home run, and Yuya Fukui (1-0) threw seven scoreless innings thanks to a good throw home by Rainel Rosario and a super tag by catcher Tsubasa Aizawa to end the fifth inning as Hiroshima beat Chunichi.

Giants 3, Tigers 2

At Koshien Stadium, Yomiuri cleanup hitter Shinnosuke Abe left the game with leg trouble suffered while running out a first-inning RBI double, but the team held on to beat Hanshin and record its fifth straight win. Giants’ lefty Aaron Poreda (1-1) allowed two runs in six innings to beat Randy Messenger (1-2).

PACIFIC LEAGUE

Eagles 7, Fighters 2

At Kobo Miyagi Stadium, Tohoku Rakuten’s Kenny Ray (3-0) scattered four hits and a walk over six scoreless innings to remain perfect in three starts, while former teen icon Yuki Saito (0-1) allowed four runs in 3⅓ innings to take the loss for first-place Hokkaido Nippon Ham.

Hawks 4, Marines 2

At QVC Marine Field, Lee Dae-ho’s two-run, fourth-inning single overturned a one-run deficit and Fukuoka Softbank’s Kenichi Nakata (1-2) worked into the seventh inning to outduel Chiba Lotte’s Hideaki Wakui (2-2). The Marines loaded the bases against Hawks closer Dennis Sarfate in the ninth but he hung for his fifth save.