Pinch hitter Shinnosuke Shigenobu lofted a fly ball to the wall that fell for a game-winning double, lifting the Yomiuri Giants to a 6-5 walk-off win over the Tokyo Yakult Swallows on Tuesday.
Before a crowd of 33,331 at Kyocera Dome, the Central League-leading Giants were forced into a ninth-inning dogfight after blowing a three-run lead in the eighth.
With the score tied 5-5 after reliever Kota Nakagawa (4-1) escaped a bases-loaded jam in the top of the ninth inning, Kazuma Okamoto singled against Swallows reliever Kazuki Kondo (3-2). A sacrifice and an error put the go-ahead run on second, and the Yakult outfield came in shallow to cut off a run at the plate should Shigenobu single.