Hayato Sakamoto took the lead away from the Hanshin Tigers in the first inning. In the ninth, he snatched away their last chance to avoid having their name beside a record no team wants to own.
The Yomiuri captain hit the first of the team's three home runs early in the contest and started a game-ending double play to stamp out a ninth-inning rally, as the Giants edged their Central League rivals 5-4 in front of 36,485 at Tokyo Dome on Saturday afternoon.
"Being able to take the lead in the early innings was big for us," Giants manager Tatsunori Hara said.
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