Takehiro Ishikawa hit a pair of RBI singles Saturday as the Yokohama DeNA BayStars won their first preseason game by rallying to beat the Yomiuri Giants 4-3.
New captain Ishikawa's second hit of the afternoon, off reliever Yasunari Takagi, broke a 3-3 tie in the eighth inning at Okinawa Cellular Stadium.
Alex Ramirez, who joined DeNA this offseason from Yomiuri, went hitless in three at-bats in the cleanup spot. Yomiuri infielder Shuichi Murata hit his second home run of the spring with a solo shot in the sixth against his former team.
The BayStars have finished last in the Central League for four consecutive seasons and eight times in the last 10 years.
Elsewhere in Okinawa Prefecture, the Chiba Lotte Marines beat the Chunichi Dragons 6-4; the Tokyo Yakult Swallows edged the Hanshin Tigers 3-2; and the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters defeated the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 7-5 in a game called in the sixth inning because of rain.
At Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, the Japan Series champion Fukuoka Softbank Hawks beat the Hiroshima Carp 3-1.