The Yomiuri Giants took another step toward clinching their third straight Central League pennant on Wednesday with a 4-1 victory over the Chunichi Dragons.
The Giants' win and a 12-3 defeat by the second-place Hiroshima Carp saw Yomiuri's magic number to clinch the pennant shrink to two.
Tomoyuki Sugano (12-5) threw six shutout innings to earn the win and helped himself out by driving in a run with a fifth-inning squeeze. The right-hander allowed three hits and two walks, while striking out four.