Masashi Ito won a pitchers' duel with Yomiuri Giants ace Tomoyuki Sugano Saturday to lead the Central League-leading Hanshin Tigers to a 3-0 victory.
Ito (3-2) threw seven scoreless innings and left with a 1-0 lead thanks to Yusuke Oyama's 10th home run off Sugano (1-2) in the fourth inning.
"I thought going in it was going to be a low-scoring game, and I'm glad we could win," Ito said. "The home run gave me a boost."
Sugano, pitching in just his third game of the season, also went seven innings but was stuck with the tough loss as Hanshin relievers Yuta Iwasada and Suguru Iwazaki each retired all three batters he faced.
Oyama's hit was the Tigers' first off Sugano, who proved even more difficult an opponent than Hanshin skipper Akinobu Okada expected.
"Perhaps because it was our first time facing Sugano this year, but it was harder to get hits off him than I thought it would be," Okada said. "His pitches had good late movement."
First-year Hanshin import Sheldon Neuse doubled in an insurance run in the Tigers' two-run ninth.
Elsewhere, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows dropped two-time league MVP Munetaka Murakami from the starting lineup, although he had a pinch-hit double in a 3-2 win over the Hiroshima Carp. The DeNA BayStars came from behind to tie the Chunichi Dragons 2-2 in 12 innings.
In the Pacific League, the first-place Orix Buffaloes got past the Nippon Ham Fighters 3-1, while the Lotte Marines clobbered the Rakuten Eagles 10-2. The SoftBank Hawks beat the Seibu Lions 7-5 after 10 innings.
==Kyodo