Revitalized Kazuhiro Kiyohara sparked the Yomiuri offense once again Wednesday as the Giants survived a late-inning scare to shake off the Yokohama BayStars 8-7 at Yokohama Stadium and solidify their Central League lead.
With the second-place Chunichi Dragons losing, the Giants widened their lead in the league to seven games.
A solo homer by Yoshinobu Takahashi followed Kiyohara's two-run shot in a four-run first inning and Hideki Matsui joined the long-ball procession with his league-leading 27th shot in the third as the Giants romped to a 7-0 lead after four innings.