Yomiuri manager Tatsunori Hara assured the media everything was all right during spring training as the Giants sputtered to six straight losses at the end of the exhibition season. The games began to count on Friday and for one night, opening night, at least, everything really was OK in Yomiuri Land.
Yoshiyuki Kamei hit a two-run home run, Tomoyuki Sugano shut down a pair of potential rallies, and the three-time defending Central League champions got the new year off to a winning start with a 3-2 victory against the Yokohama BayStars in front of a crowd 45,524 at Tokyo Dome.
Kamei's home run came in his first at-bat of the season, and was also the first of the year in NPB.
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