Shohei Tateyama pitched two-run ball over seven effective innings and got support with two long balls and five RBIs by Wladimir Balentien as the Central-League front-running Tokyo Yakult Swallows defeated the Yokohama BayStars 6-3 on Tuesday.
Tateyama (8-1) gave up eight hits, struck out eight and walked one in a 123-pitch outing at Yokohama Stadium. Kentaro Takasaki (3-7) was roughed up for five runs in five innings.
Josh Whitesell opened the scoring with a run-scoring double in the first inning, which also featured Balentien's RBI single.