Tatsuhiro Shibata played hero in both the field and at the plate on Saturday as the Yokohama DeNA BayStars earned a 7-2 Central League win over the second-place Yomiuri Giants.
Despite the loss at Tokyo Dome, the Giants remained 1½ games behind the league-leading Hanshin Tigers, who lost to the Chunichi Dragons.
Shibata, a light-hitting infielder, made a good play at second to prevent a leadoff single in the third and saved a run with a snappy sixth-inning double play. He then broke a 1-1 tie with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly and drove in an eighth-inning insurance run with his second home run.