Three solo home runs helped the Central League edge the Pacific League 5-4 on Friday to claim Game 1 of this summer's All-Star series.
The Yomiuri Giants' Hayato Sakamoto went deep in the fourth before the game's MVP Yoshitomo Tsutsugo of the Yokohama BayStars and Wladimir Balentien of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows homered in the fifth to hand the CL a comfortable lead before 35,653 at Yafuoku Dome.
Tsutsugo also doubled as he went 2-for-3 in a game which saw no runners reach base over the first three innings, with PL starter Tsuyoshi Wada of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and his CL counterpart Tomoyuki Sugano of the Yomiuri Giants both throwing two perfect innings.