Kazuhiro Kiyohara, Hiroki Kokubo and Yoshinobu Takahashi all homered to highlight a 15-hit offense and drove in a total of seven runs as the Yomiuri Giants beat the Yakult Swallows 9-5 in a preseason game on Thursday.
Kiyohara hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning, followed by a solo shot from Kokubo in the seventh and a two-run drive from Takahashi in the ninth at Jingu Stadium. Roberto Petagine doubled twice in his first preseason game with the top team.
At Nagoya Dome, Hiroshima starter Hiroki Kuroda pitched five effective innings and combined on a two-hitter with four others as the Carp beat the Chunichi Dragons 2-0.
At Hiratsuka Municipal Stadium, Masakuni Odajima delivered a pinch-hit two-run homer off Jarred Riggan in the sixth inning to turn the game around in favor of Yokohama as the BayStars beat the Hanshin Tigers 4-3.