The Tokyo Yakult Swallows avoided losing two straight to the team they are chasing for the Central League's final playoff spot, when they came from a run down to defeat the Hiroshima Carp 5-1 at Jingu Stadium on Wednesday.
Carp rookie Yusuke Nomura (9-7) entered the game with a league-leading 1.54 ERA but allowed three runs on eight hits and four walks in four innings. Third-year Swallows lefty Masato Nakazawa also struggled to keep runners off base, but allowed just one run over 4⅓ innings in his second start of the season.
Right-hander Kosuke Matsui (1-0) helped bail the Swallows out of a serious jam in the fifth. Leading by two with runners on second and third with one out, Matsui struck out slugger Shota Dobayashi. Yuichiro Mukae then grounded out to third.