Shinnosuke Abe homered for the second straight game and Hisanori Takahashi pitched 5 2/3 effective innings as the Yomiuri Giants beat the Yakult Swallows 4-2 on Sunday.
Yomiuri extended its unbeaten streak to five games, including Friday's 12-inning tie, and cut its magic number to clinch the Central League title to 16.
Yomiuri scored the tying and go-ahead runs for a 3-2 lead in the second inning when shortstop Keizo Kawashima made an errant throw to first on a two-out, bases-loaded grounder by Tetsuya Matsumoto.