Captain Shinnosuke Abe singled to drive in the game-winning run in the 11th inning, lifting the Yomiuri Giants to a 3-2 victory over the Hiroshima Carp on Sunday.
The 2012 Japan Series champion took the three-game series 2-0 with one tie to start the new season.
It appeared things would go the other way after Brad Eldred hit a two-out, tiebreaking homer to make it 2-1 in the top of the inning, but the resilient Giants never said die.