Shuichi Murata brought the Yomiuri Giants from behind with a three-run home run and drove in another run with a single as they beat the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 6-4 in the Central League on Friday.
Trailing 2-0, with runners on the corners after a single and an error and no outs, Hayato Sakamoto's RBI single off Kyle Davies (4-5) cut the deficit in half in the first inning before Murata slugged one over the left-field wall at Tokyo Dome with one out to turn things around.
Seiji Kobayashi led off the second with a home run off Davies, and Murata added an RBI single in the fifth off reliever Kenichi Matsuoka.
While Davies allowed five runs on five hits and three walks in four innings, his counterpart, Tetsuya Utsumi (9-6) scattered nine hits and a walk over eight innings to hold the Swallows to two first-inning runs to win his second straight start.
Tigers 2, BayStars 1
At Koshien Stadium, Hanshin's Kosuke Fukudome hit a two-run shot off veteran Daisuke Miura (0-2) while Takumi Akiyama (1-1) held Yokohama to a run over 5-2/3 innings to earn his first win since 2012.
Miura, who has a earned a victory in each of his previous 23 pro seasons, allowed two runs in 4-1/3 innings to take the loss.
Carp 8, Dragons 0
At Hiroshima's Mazda Stadium, Hiroshima won its fourth straight as Yusuke Nomura (15-3) tied teammate Kris Johnson for the league lead in wins, hurling seven innings against Chunichi.
Seiya Suzuki went 2-for-2 with a two-run home run and two walks for the Carp, who broke 2 million in attendance for the second straight year.