Hayato Sakamoto hit a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning and finished with three hits as the Yomiuri Giants beat the Hanshin Tigers 5-2 Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep.
Sakamoto sent the first pitch he saw from Randy Messenger over the wall in left-center for a 4-1 lead at Tokyo Dome. Alex Ramirez added a solo homer an inning later.
Tetsuya Utsumi (4-0) won his fourth straight start with seven solid innings. The left-hander gave up a leadoff homer to Matt Murton in the first but settled down to hold the Tigers to just five more hits, all singles, while striking out seven and walking one.