Adam Walker hit a two-run homer and scored twice, helping the Yomiuri Giants to an early three-run lead in a 5-2 Central League win over the Chunichi Dragons on Sunday.
The victory at Tokyo Dome was the Giants' fifth straight and completed a two-game sweep of the last-place Dragons, who have lost seven in a row.
Walker, who joined the Giants a year ago after three solid seasons in independent minor league ball, cracked open the scoreboard in the second inning with his fourth home run of the season, against Samurai Japan pitcher Hiroto Takahashi (1-5).
The outfielder singled to lead off Yomiuri's fourth and scored to make it 3-0 on a two-out Yoshihiro Maru single.
Chunichi struck for two in the sixth on new Dragon Seiya Hosokawa's third home run, only for Japan WBC hero Kazuma Okamoto to get those runs back his seventh homer of the season.
Elsewhere, the league-leading Hanshin Tigers held off the Hiroshima Carp 4-1, while the DeNA BayStars and Tokyo Yakult Swallows tied 3-3 in 12 innings.
The Pacific League-leading Chiba Lotte Marines won their fifth straight with a 6-4 victory over the last-place Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, while the Orix Buffaloes beat up on the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters 10-4, and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks stopped the Seibu Lions 3-1.