Yu Darvish pitched eight dominant innings and Shinji Takahashi drove in three runs Friday as the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters beat the Saitama Seibu Lions 4-2 for their third consecutive victory.
Darvish (2-1) held the Lions to two runs and three hits, striking out eight and walking two in Pacific League action at Seibu Dome. Hideaki Wakui (2-1) gave up four runs and nine hits in seven innings.
Takahashi had a two-run homer and an RBI single in his first two at-bats, helping Nippon Ham build a 4-1 lead through four innings.