Mototsugu Kawanaka led off the bottom of the 11th with his career first home run to give the Yomiuri Giants a 5-4 "sayonara" victory over the Hanshin Tigers at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday.
The win, coupled with the loss of the second-place Swallows, slashed CL leader Yomiuri's magic number to 11.
The Giants led 4-0 before Hanshin cut the lead to two with Shinjiro Hiyama's two-run homer in the sixth.