Young right-hander Shosei Togo threw a six-hit shutout while veteran Hayato Sakamoto homered twice and drove in five runs as the Yomiuri Giants crushed the DeNA BayStars 6-0 Sunday to keep their Central League postseason hopes alive.
Entering the game at Yokohama Stadium three games back of third-place DeNA in the battle for the CL's last two playoff seeds behind the newly crowned Hanshin Tigers, the 23-year-old Togo (12-5) squared off against a World Baseball Classic teammate, lefty Shota Imanaga (7-4).
"I was expecting a low-scoring game, and I'm happy I could put together a good effort," said Togo, who struck out seven and walked none but hit two batters.
The Giants took a one-run lead in the fourth on a Lewis Brinson sacrifice fly, but the BayStars threatened in the home half with two on, one out and one of the CL's most productive hitters this season, Toshiro Miyazaki, at the plate.
Togo fell behind but got Miyazaki to hit into an inning-ending double play.
Minutes later, Sakamoto became the 49th player to drive in 1,000 runs in Japanese pro baseball, with 1,001 on a two-run homer, his 21st of the season.
"We escaped that pinch, and my teammates rallied in our next at-bat," Togo said. "Sakamoto keeps getting big hits for us in key moments, and I'm grateful to him."
Sakamoto iced the game with a three-run shot in the ninth. Togo struggled a bit in the final frame but stranded two runners for his second shutout.
In Sunday's other afternoon game, Hiroaki Shimauchi's ninth-inning two-run homer lifted the Pacific League's Rakuten Eagles 3-1 over the Nippon Ham Fighters.
The Eagles started the day one game back of the third-place SoftBank Hawks.