Taishi Ota tripled in two runs in the seventh inning to break a tie as the Yomiuri Giants snapped the Yokohama BayStars' three-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory on Friday in the Central League.
BayStars starter Shoichi Ino (5-8) gave up a leadoff double to pinch hitter Yasuhiro Yamamoto in the seventh inning. A sacrifice and a groundout saw him reach third, before Ino walked Hayato Sakamoto. Ota then hit a liner to left-center off a hanging forkball on a full count.
"I just tried to get good contact and hope it traveled well," said Ota, who came on to replace injured Hisayoshi Chono earlier in the game. "I thought he'd (Ino) come to finish me off with a forkball, I saw similar patterns during the game and I just tried to hang in."