Kosuke Tanaka broke the ice with a two-run, tiebreaking single in the fifth inning, as the Hiroshima Carp opened the Central League playoffs' final stage with a 3-0 win over the Yokohama BayStars in a game called after five innings because of rain.
The Carp, who began the Climax Series' final stage with a one-win advantage by virtue of winning the league, now lead the six-game series 2-0.
The Carp did not have a hit off lefty Kenta Ishida until the fifth inning, when Takahiro Arai singled after Xavier Batista drew a leadoff walk in the rain at Hiroshima's Mazda Stadium. After a sacrifice, a walk and a strikeout, Tanaka fouled off a 2-2 pitch before Ishida hung a high slider and the Carp leadoff man lifted it into center.