Kenta Asakura and Hitoki Iwase combined on a three-hit shutout as the Chunichi Dragons beat the Hanshin Tigers 2-0 on Wednesday.
The win, coupled with the first-place Yomiuri Giants' 2-1 loss to the Hiroshima Carp, brought Chunichi within one game of the Central League lead.
Asakura (9-6) allowed three hits — all singles — with a walk and seven strikeouts in eight innings before Iwase closed out the ninth to match Hanshin's Kyuji Fujikawa for the league lead with 30 saves.
Masahiko Morino hit a two-out RBI single and then scored on a throwing error by Atsushi Fujimoto, who made a wild throw to first on a grounder up the middle by Koji Nakamura.