Catcher Shinnosuke Abe homered and drove in two runs but had to postpone his own celebration due to an injury after helping his team clinch its second consecutive Central League title in a 3-1 victory over the Yakult Swallows on Friday.
Yomiuri, which had a magic number of two with a half-game lead over the Hanshin Tigers before game time, clinched the league pennant with its win over Yakult, coupled with Hanshin's 4-3 defeat to the Yokohama BayStars.
"What an incredible bunch of players!" said Giants manager Tatsunori Hara after hearing the news of Hanshin's defeat later that night.