The Yomiuri Giants improved to 7-0 on the young season following a tense 8-6 win over the Chunichi Dragons at Tokyo Dome on Sunday afternoon.
Giants captain Shinnosuke Abe belted a three-run homer, his first of the season, to put the Japan Series champions ahead for good in the fifth inning, while Japan teammate Tetsuya Utsumi (1-0) got away with the win despite allowing four runs in five innings.
Abe, who was inconsistent through the World Baseball Classic and had done little since the start of the regular season, broke out with four hits, reaching 1,500 for his career.