Former Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Gary Glover made a strong preseason debut Sunday, allowing just one single and no walks in three shutout innings in the Yomiuri Giants' 9-1 rout of the Softbank Hawks.
Shigeki Noguchi, who also joined Yomiuri in the offseason, allowed one run and four hits in three innings at Yahoo Dome. Shinnosuke Abe hit a two-run homer to give Yomiuri an early lead.
Softbank starter Junji Hoshino gave up six runs and nine hits in three innings, struggling for the second consecutive start.
Marines 6, Fighters 2
At Sapporo Dome, Tetsuya Kakiuchi hit a grand slam in the seventh inning to put Lotte ahead of Nippon Ham.
Takaya Hayashi went 3-for-3 with an RBI single for the 2005 Japan Series champions. Nippon Ham right-hander Felix Diaz from the Dominican Republic showed good velocity and held Lotte to one run in four innings.
Lions 8, Tigers 5
In Kurashiki, Hiroyuki Nakajima broke a 5-5 tie with a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning as Seibu beat Hanshin.
Seibu rookie catcher Kinjiro Sumitani homered off Naohisa Sugiyama, who gave up three runs in four innings.
Carp 5, BayStars 4
Shigenobu Shima belted a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth inning as Hiroshima edged Yokohama.
Hiroshima outfielder Koichi Ogata had two hits and drew a walk in his first preseason exhibition appearance. Jason Beverlin, one of Yokohama's offseason acquisitions, allowed three runs, four hits and three walks in three innings at Hiroshima Stadium.
Buffaloes 5, Dragons 5 (9)
Left-hander Yuya Ishii allowed just one single in four shutout innings in his bid to gain a spot in Chunichi's starting rotation.
Kazuyoshi Tatsunami and Masahiko Morino, competing for the regular third base position, had three hits and four hits, respectively. Orix right-hander Chihiro Kaneko worked a strong four innings at Skymark Stadium in Kobe.