Yoshitomo Tani and Alex Ramirez both homered and Wirfin Obispo pitched three-run ball over seven innings as the Yomiuri Giants beat the Chunichi Dragons 5-3 to clinch their third consecutive Central League title on Wednesday.
The Giants, led by manager Tatsunori Hara, achieved a feat no other CL team has since they won nine consecutive titles from 1965-1973. Yomiuri swept Chunichi in three games and won its seventh in a row for the first time this season.
Tani went deep off Daisuke Yamai (0-3) for a 1-0 lead in the second and Ramirez led off the fourth with a shot to center, reaching 30 home runs for the second straight year. Shigeyuki Furuki and Obispo had a run-scoring single and RBI bunt single, respectively.