Ryuhei Matsuyama had a one-out clutch tiebreaking RBI single and Eishin Soyogi added a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning as the Central League-leading Hiroshima Carp beat Chunichi Dragons 3-2 in the opener of a three-game series on Friday.
Jumpei Shinoda (3-2) yielded one run and five hits in seven innings for the win in front of a crowd of 23,203 at Mazda Stadium. The left-hander struck out two and walked two. The Carp went 11 games above .500 to match a season high.
Jun Hirose drew a one-out walk off Dragons starter Toshiya Okada (1-5) and Tetsuya Kokubo singled to put runners at the corners, setting the stage for pinch hitter Matsuyama.