At Koshien Stadium, Jefry Marte homered for his third straight game before Hotaka Yamakawa hit a sixth-inning grand slam for the Seibu Lions against Hanshin Tigers starter Koyo Aoyagi in a 6-2 win on Saturday.

The right-handed side-armer struck out seven, while walking two and giving up six hits over six innings. Right-hander Ren Kajiya, who was let go by the Hawks in December, contributed his third scoreless inning of the spring. Jon Edwards allowed a run in the ninth for the Tigers.

Jerry Sands had a hit and a walk for Hanshin as he continued to reach base in every game so far this spring.

Key Lions relievers Kaima Taira, Tatsushi Masuda and Tetsu Miyagawa each worked one scoreless inning.

At Osaka’s Kyocera Dome, the Orix Buffaloes tagged 20-year-old Yomiuri Giants starter Shosei Togo for three runs over six innings in a 3-1 win.

Togo struck out eight without issuing a walk but surrendered seven hits and a home run. One of the runs was unearned. Key relievers Thyago Vieira and Kota Nakagawa each worked a scoreless inning. Giants slugger Kazuma Okamoto hit his first homer of the spring.

Orix’s top pick in the 2019 draft, 19-year-old Hiroya Miyagi, allowed his first run of the season in a five-inning outing. He struck out four but issued three walks. Taisuke Yamaoka, who started Opening Day for Orix in 2020, worked three scoreless innings.

At Mazda Stadium, Daichi Osera continued to work toward his third straight Opening Day start for the Hiroshima Carp in a 3-1 win over the Nippon Ham Fighters, striking out nine over five scoreless innings. Robert Corniel, a 25-year-old developmental-contract guy from the Dominican, worked a scoreless inning for the Carp.

The newest Fighter, right-hander Takahide Ikeda made his spring debut after arriving in a trade from the Rakuten Eagles last week, striking out two over three scoreless innings. Twenty-year-old Yuki James Nomura drove in the visitors’ only run with a ninth-inning single after striking out twice in three hitless at-bats.