The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks' bats took a rare night off in a Central League park. Luckily the pitching staff was present and accounted for, and so was the defense.
Jason Standridge held the Yomiuri Giants to one run over seven innings, and a great defensive sequence in the eighth helped preserve the lead as the Hawks beat the Giants 3-2 in front of a crowd of 44,893 on Saturday night at Tokyo Dome.
"We never really got things going tonight," said Hawks manager Kimiyasu Kudo. "We only got four hits, but fortunately we could score three runs in the fourth."