Ryosuke Hirata hit a two-run homer, Daisuke Yamai pitched seven scoreless innings and the Chunichi Dragons beat the Yakult Swallows 3-0 in a heated match-up between the Central League leader and second-place team on Monday.
With the victory, the CL-leading Dragons took a 1-1/2 game advantage over Yakult and took the opener of a four-game set.
Hirata went deep off Masanori Ishikawa (9-9) with a runner on first and two outs for a 2-0 lead the second inning and Hirokazu Ibata added a run-scoring double in the fifth, following Yamai's two-out double and a single by Masahiro Araki at Nagoya Dome.