Shun Tono used his fastball effectively over eight scoreless innings as the Yomiuri Giants beat the Hiroshima Carp 3-1 and moved back into second place with one game remaining in the season on Thursday.
Tono (13-8) scattered three hits, struck out five and walked one. Tetsuya Yamaguchi escaped a two-on jam for the final out in the ninth and got his fifth save.
Shinnosuke Abe hit a solo homer in the second — his 44th blast of the year — and Yoshinobu Takahashi added a two-run single in the seventh at Tokyo Dome.
With a win over the Tokyo Yakult Swallows on Friday, Yomiuri can secure second place to take home field advantage in the first stage of the Climax Series against the Hanshin Tigers.
BayStars 2, Tigers 0
At Yokohama Stadium, Kentaro Takasaki threw seven scoreless innings, leading last-place Yokohama to a win over Hanshin in its final game of the season.
The Tigers, who also played their final game, fell into third. Matt Murton, who rewrote the Japanese single-season hits record, went 1-for-4 and finished with 214 hits.
Keijiro Matsumoto hit a leadoff homer in the fourth and Yoshitomo Tsutsugo hit his career first homer in the seventh.