Giants sign reliever Acosta to one-year deal

The Yomiuri Giants have acquired 31-year-old reliever Manny Acosta on a one-year, ?100 million contract, the Central League club said Thursday.

The 193-cm, 98-kg right-hander went 1-3 with one save and a 6.46 ERA in 45 games for the New York Mets last season, also pitching 17 games in the minors. The native of Panama is 13-13 for his career with nine saves and a 3.99 ERA.

The Giants had the best bullpen in Japan last season as they went on to win the CL pennant and the Japan Series. Yomiuri's relievers went 24-8 with 48 saves and 106 holds and a 1.80 ERA.

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Giants' Cruz recounts visit to slain boy's family

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey — For much of his hourlong visit with the family of a 6-year-old boy killed in the Connecticut school shootings, Victor Cruz talked about football, life and young Jack, the child who idolized him.

Tears were shed. Feelings were shared. Cleats and gloves worn by Cruz to honor Jack Pinto at Sunday's game against Atlanta were given to his family.

The New York Giants wide receiver somberly recounted Wednesday his meeting with Pinto's parents and brother in Newtown, Connecticut.

He struggled in his retelling only when asked about the family's decision to bury the child in the receiver's No. 80 Giants jersey. The father of an infant girl, Cruz stopped for a moment, and his eyes became watery.

"You never go through some circumstances like this and circumstances where a kid faces or a family faces something of this magnitude at their school," Cruz said. "This definitely was the toughest by far."

Jack Pinto was buried on Monday and Cruz telephoned the family to ask whether he could visit them Tuesday.

The family disclosed after Friday's massacre that Cruz was Jack's favorite player. The boy was one of 20 first-graders and six adults killed in the shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Cruz drove to Newtown with his girlfriend, Elaina Watley, and their daughter, Kennedy.

"I had no expectations. I was a little nervous," Cruz said. "I just didn't know how I was going to be received. You never know when they are going through something like that. You never know how it is going to go down."

Seeing the family outside the home along with some local children made Cruz feel better.

"They were still pretty emotional, crying and stuff like that," Cruz said. "I saw how affected they were by just my presence alone. I got out and gave them the cleats and the gloves and they appreciated it. The older brother (Ben) was still emotional, so I gave them to him."

Cruz had written "Jack Pinto, My Hero" and "R.I.P. Jack Pinto" on his cleats before the Giants' loss to the Falcons Sunday in Atlanta.

"I didn't want to go in there and make a speech," Cruz said. "I just wanted to go and spend some time with them and be someone they could talk to, and be someone they can vent to, talk about how much of fans they are of the team, or different times they watched the Super Bowl."

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Cardinals hold off Giants in Game 1

SAN FRANCISCO — This time, Carlos Beltran, David Freese and the St. Louis Cardinals took a six-run lead — and held onto it, barely.

Beltran and Freese hit two-run homers and these wild, wild-card Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants 6-4 on Sunday night in Game 1 of the NLCS.

The defending World Series champions took an early 6-0 cushion and made it stand up. Only two nights earlier, the Cardinals came back from a 6-0 deficit, using a four-run rally in the ninth inning at Washington in the deciding Game 5 of the division series.

"The way we play the game, we have been in this type of situation before in the regular season," Beltran said. "These guys have this mentality of not panicking."

The St. Louis bullpen delivered with 5? scoreless innings after starter Lance Lynn was chased early. Edward Mujica, the fifth St. Louis pitcher, struck out the side in order in the seventh for the win. Jason Motte finished for his second save of the postseason.

The Cardinals gave first-year manager Mike Matheny a win against his former club.

Matheny's crew hardly looked road-weary after a cross-country trip. The Giants dropped to 0-3 at home so far during these playoffs, outscored 20-6 at AT&T Park.

Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Monday night. Chris Carpenter pitches for the Cardinals against Ryan Vogelsong.

This is the first time the previous two World Series winners are facing off in the postseason since the 1958 World Series between the Braves and Yankees.

Beltran's fourth-inning drive into the seats in left-center chased San Francisco starter Madison Bumgarner.

It was Beltran's 14th career postseason homer and third this October.

"Right now I'm really enjoying myself," Beltran said. "Right now I'm seeing the ball well. I feel like I have a good approach at the plate, I feel like I'm not trying to do too much, and good things are happening."

Both teams were well rested a day after a rough night of travel. The Giants barely beat the Cardinals to the Bay Area early Saturday after they were delayed three hours on the tarmac in Cincinnati on Friday night — to refuel and for a mechanical problem after waiting out the Cardinals-Nationals game to know where they were headed next.

Matheny stuck with the same winning lineup that he sent out for Game 5, and some of the same faces came through again.

"They put together some better at-bats than us," Giants center fielder Angel Pagan said. "They hit some homers and were up 6-0. That's a pretty good lead in the playoffs. We tried to battle back. We did our best but it wasn't our night."

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Giants make history with victory over Reds

CINCINNATI — Not just any comeback would get San Francisco back to playing for a pennant. It would take one of Giant proportions.

Bye-Bye, Baby: San Francisco's Buster Posey watches his grand slam against Cincinnati leave the yard in the fifth inning of Game 5 on Thursday. The Giants beat the Reds 6-4. AP

And Buster Posey believed it could happen. Even after the Giants left the West Coast down two games, the National League batting champion insisted his team could pull it off, despite the long odds.

With one swing, he got everyone else believing it, too.

Posey hit the third grand slam in Giants' postseason history on Thursday, and San Francisco pulled off an unprecedented revival, moving into the National League Championship Series with a 6-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

"You don't want to be in a lose-and-you're-out scenario," reliever Jeremy Affeldt said, wearing a brace on his left wrist so he didn't hurt it in the champagne-flavored clubhouse celebration. "We've been in that situation for three days. We're probably going to sleep well tonight."

They'll play either Washington or St. Louis for the NL pennant, Sunday, not caring at all who they face.

"We could go up against anybody at any time," shortstop Brandon Crawford said. "Being down 2-0 and coming back and winning three at their place, it's an unbelievable feeling."

Game 1 of the NLCS will be Sunday, either in Washington against the Nationals or in San Francisco vs. the Cardinals. In the meantime, the Giants will stay in Cincinnati until their next opponent is determined Friday night when the Cards and Nats play Game 5.

The Giants became the first NL team to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the division series, which began in 1995. Major League Baseball's changed playoff format this season allowed them to become the first to take a best-of-five by winning the last three on the road.

Posey's second career grand slam off Mat Latos put San Francisco up 6-0 in the fifth and sparked a joyous scrum in the Giants dugout. The ball smacked off the front of the upper deck in left field, just above Latos' name on the video board.

For the first time in the series, the Giants could exhale.

"I don't think anybody gave up," Posey said.

Will Clark, in the 1989 NLCS, and Chuck Hiller, in the 1962 World Series, hit the other Giants slams in the postseason.

Matt Cain and the bullpen held on, with more help from Posey. The All-Star catcher threw out Jay Bruce at third base to snuff out a sixth-inning rally that cut it to 6-3. The Giants had a pair of diving catches that preserved the lead in the eighth.

There was more drama in the ninth. Ryan Ludwick singled home a run off Sergio Romo. With two runners aboard, Romo fanned Scott Rolen to end it.

The Giants raised their arms, hugged and huddled by the side of the mound, bouncing in unison.

"It was a spectacular moment," outfielder Hunter Pence said.

In Cincinnati, the home-field meltdown had a sickeningly familiar feeling. The Reds haven't won a home playoff game in 17 years. After taking the first two on the West Coast, all they needed was one more at home, where they hadn't dropped three straight all season.

"You get tired of the disappointments, but then you get over it," Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said. "It hurts big-time."

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49ers look for revenge in rematch with Giants

SAN FRANCISCO — Alex Smith, Carlos Rogers and Kyle Williams acknowledge what some of their other San Francisco teammates might not: Sunday's rematch with the New York Giants absolutely means a little more to the 49ers.

The Giants ended San Francisco's season in frustrating fashion nearly 10 months ago — with a Super Bowl berth on the line.

Many 49ers players stewed for months about that near-miss in the NFC title game, a sting that only became worse when Eli Manning and the Giants went on to win another championship.

As much as the NFC West champion Niners (4-1) are attempting to downplay the Giants' return to Candlestick Park on Sunday for a hyped-up October showdown, Rogers knows there's still plenty of fuel all these months later.

The 49ers lost 20-17 in overtime, and still feel they gave it away.

Williams became Bay Area enemy No. 1 after fumbling not once but twice in crunch time.

"You say that it's just another game, but this is the team that knocked us out from going to the show," Rogers said. "There's just going to be a little more from each player to try to win this game against those guys. They're the champions. No matter what, if they didn't knock us out in that game, they're the defending champions. We want to perform against those guys just because of that."

Fill-in Williams, playing in place of the injured Ted Ginn Jr., fumbled a punt in overtime that set up Lawrence Tynes' winning field goal.

Williams also fumbled with 11:06 left in regulation. The Giants won a challenge that the ball touched Williams' right knee and Devin Thomas made the first of his two recoveries on Williams' fumbles. That gave the Giants the ball at the 29 and Manning then threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham.

Williams' awful day ignited a barrage of hateful, hurtful, even threatening comments directed at him via Twitter. Teammates such as kicker David Akers made their own public posts asking people to quit with the harsh comments toward the then-second-year pro and son of Chicago White Sox general manager Ken Williams.

"You're talking about a year ago. It seems like a long time ago," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "It was a great football game, and really a defensive struggle. We had weather, we had all kinds of things, wind. For us, the contribution of special teams to allow us to have an opportunity was probably what I remember more than anything else."

Afterward, New York's Jacquian Williams and Thomas indicated they were trying to hit Kyle Williams given his history of concussions, including one sustained Dec. 24 at Seattle that kept him out of the 49ers' regular-season finale at St. Louis. The NFL later found that the Giants had not broken any rules.

Much has changed since Jan. 22, however.

Now, Manningham and Brandon Jacobs are playing out West with the 49ers, though Jacobs (knee) has yet to see the field. Coach Jim Harbaugh and San Francisco general manager Trent Baalke immediately went to work upgrading their offense after the receivers managed just one catch for 3 yards against the Giants.

Manningham said when he speaks to his Giants pals: "We joke around about the game, about what we're going to do to them and what they're going to do to us. That's friendly competition. But believe me, they're going to be ready to play. I know what type of game these guys play on Sundays. I know they get started and I know how they go. Believe me, when they come in here, they're going to be ready to play."

Harbaugh sees no need to bring up the NFC title game, though he has called the Giants a "cruel" team. San Francisco's preparation and focus since a Week 3 loss at Minnesota has been spot on, and the 49ers are coming off a record-setting day on their home field in a 45-3 rout of the Bills. That came on the heels of a 34-0 road thumping of the Jets.

"It's new business to me," Harbaugh said.

This is a matchup of the league's two most efficient scoring teams. Manning has thrown for at least 200 yards in 24 straight games, the second-longest streak ever, while Smith is coming off the best game statistically in his eight-year career.

Against Buffalo, San Francisco amassed 621 yards and became the first team in NFL history with 300 yards rushing and 300 yards passing in the same game.

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Giants' Sawamura returns to form after shaky stretch

Hirokazu Sawamura (10-10) threw five shutout innings on Saturday to earn his first win since Aug. 14 as the Yomiuri Giants defeated the Yokohama BayStars 6-0 at Tokyo Dome.

Sawamura allowed one hit, a first-inning leadoff single and two walks, while striking out one batter. The Central League's 2011 Rookie of the Year was coming off a stretch of five games in which he had allowed 19 runs in 25 2/3 innings.

"With all the great support I got from the fans, it was fun pitching," Sawamura said.

Giants leadoff man Hisayoshi Chono had three hits to take over the league lead with 173 on the season. Chono singled in a run in the fourth and hit his 14th homer of the year in the seventh.

The BayStars' Alex Ramirez, who needs seven hits to reach 2,000 in Japan, did not play. Yokohama has four games remaining in the season.

Carp 4, Swallows 2

At Tokyo's Jingu Stadium, Shota Dobayashi hit a pair of solo homers, and Keisuke Imai (4-8) held batters to two runs over six innings as Hiroshima beat Yakult in game that was called with none out in the bottom of the ninth due to rain.

The Carp snapped a six-game winless streak against the Swallows, including one tie, for a 9-12 record with two ties against Yakult. Dobayashi hit a tiebreaking leadoff shot off Takehiko Oshimoto (4-1) in the seventh and went deep for his 14th homer of the year in the ninth.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

Lions 2, Marines 1

At Seibu Dome, Chiba Lotte closer Yasuhiko Yabuta (1-6) blew a one-run, ninth-inning lead by allowing a leadoff single and issuing four walks to force across the tying and winning runs in a loss to Seibu.

Pinch hitter Chris Carter and light-hitting utility infielder Takuya Hara drew consecutive two-out, bases-loaded walks in the ninth.

Lions starter Takayuki Kishi (11-12) went the distance to win for the first time since Aug. 28.

Eagles 2, Hawks 1

At Sendai's Kleenex Stadium, Akihisa Makida's two-run homer in the second inning off Yang Yao-hsun (2-3) was all Tohoku Rakuten needed against third-place Fukuoka Softbank, moving the fourth-place Eagles back to .500 for the first time since July 27.

Wataru Karashima (8-5) limited the damage to one run on three hits in eight innings. He struck out seven and walked two.

Koji Aoyama worked the ninth and set a club record with his 22nd save.

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Giants likely won't utilize Cabrera

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Giants have no plans to bring back suspended outfielder Melky Cabrera for the postseason if the club is still playing when he is eligible to return.

Manager Bruce Bochy said Tuesday that he and general manager Brian Sabean are meeting to finalize their 25-man roster for the best-of-five division series. Cabrera would be allowed to play in the NLCS if the Giants advance that far, but — at this stage, at least — they have no intention of adding him to the roster at any point in the postseason.

An announcement regarding Cabrera is expected before the NL West champions leave town after a three-game series against Arizona that began Tuesday night.

First, they would need to alert all the parties involved: Cabrera, Major League Baseball and the players union. Cabrera can start working out at an instructional league in Arizona 10 days before his suspension ends, so that factor weighs into the mix.

"Right now, we'll discuss that. We'll probably have something before the end of this homestand as far as Melky," Bochy said.

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Giants clinch 34th Central League pennant

For the last two years, the Yomiuri Giants have watched another team celebrate. Watched as another group of players paraded around the field clutching the Central League pennant.

No holding back: Captain Shinnosuke Abe (10) and his Giants teammates celebrate their pennant-clinching victory on Friday.

This year, someone else can do the watching.

Led by Hisayoshi Chono and MVP candidate Shinnosuke Abe, Japan's winningest franchise captured the CL title for the 34th time after a 6-4 win over the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in front of a packed house on Friday night at Tokyo Dome.

"I just have one thing to say to our fans and players," began Giants manager Tatsunori Hara, "Yusho omedeto gozaimasu (congratulations for this championship). This victory belongs to all of you.

"Our players, each and every one of them, played their hearts out all season long, and they deserve to be called champions."

Chono came up with the biggest hit on this night, breaking a 4-4 tie in the sixth with a bases-loaded single against reliever Ryo Hidaka to put the Giants ahead for good in front of a raucous crowd of 46,290.

Capturing the pennant gives the Giants, who last won the CL in 2009, both a one-game and home field advantage in the Central League Climax Series Final Stage, which begins Oct. 17 at Tokyo Dome.

"Our young players and the veterans all got together to make a great team," Hara said. "It was a fantastic season and a super pennant race. This is the best team I ever managed.

"We expect to carry the momentum of this season through the Climax Series and the Japan Series."

The Giants, who also won the interleague title, improved to 81-38-14 on the year and 11 games clear of the second-place Chunichi Dragons in the CL standings.

"After losing on Opening Day, the Giants recovered and showed great power, winning the interleague title, the first time a Central League team has won," said NPB commissioner Ryozo Kato in a statement. "On July 1, they moved into first place and never dropped out of first place after that, and went on to win the Central League championship."

Steady southpaw: Giants starter Tetsuya Utsumi picks up his 14th victory of the season on Friday.

Abe promised Giants fans a doage (a traditional victory toss for a championship-winning manager) after the team cut its magic number to one with a win over the Dragons on Wednesday in Nagoya.

Abe helped make good on his word with a home run in his first at-bat and an RBI single in his second, finishing 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs. The Yomiuri captain, a favorite to win the CL MVP Award, leads Japan with a .335 average and 98 RBIs, and his 26 home runs trail only Swallows slugger Wladimir Balentien's 29.

Giants starter Tetsuya Utsumi helped his own cause with a successful squeeze play in the fourth and third baseman Shuichi Murata also drove in a run.

Utsumi (14-5), Yomiuri's Opening Day starter, moved to the top of the CL wins list despite allowing four runs on six hits in six innings on the mound. Satoshi Fukuda and Tetsuya Yamaguchi each worked a scoreless inning of relief and closer Kentaro Nishimura nailed down the title with his 30th save of the season.

Swallows first baseman Ryuji Miyade led a valiant effort by the Birds, finishing 2-for-4 with a double and a three-run homer. Balentien was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Hiroyasu Tanaka led all batters with three hits. Pitcher Tatsuyoshi Masubuchi (2-6) was charged with the loss.

Key moment: Yomiuri's Hisayoshi Chono delivers a go-ahead, two-run single in the sixth inning against the Swallows, putting his team ahead for good.

Abe got the Giants off to a fast start with his solo home run in the first inning. The Yomiuri catcher drove in a run with a single in the third and Murata added another with a sacrifice fly.

A one-out single by Tanaka and a double by Miyade put runners on second and third for the Swallows in the fourth, and Balentien delivered with a single that just skipped off the outstretched glove of first baseman Yoshiyuki Kamei. Utsumi struck out Shingo Kawabata, then walked Shinya Miyamoto to load the bases. The next batter, Yasushi Iihara, worked the count full, and was nearly hit by ball three, before being retired on a pop-up in foul territory.

Utsumi retired the first two batters to start the fifth, then gave up a hit to Yuhei Takai. Tanaka also singled, and Miyade cleared the bases with his game-tying three-run shot to left-center.

Murata was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the sixth and Kamei and pinch hitter Yoshinobu Takahashi drew walks to load the bases. The next batter, pinch hitter Yoshihito Ishii, hit into a fielder's choice, then Chono put the Giants ahead with his two-run hit to left.

Nishinomiya, Hyogo Pref. — Chunichi's Tony Blanco ended Minoru Iwata's bid for a no-hitter with a three-run home run in the seventh inning as the Dragons defeated the Hanshin Tigers 3-2 on Friday night in the Central League.

Iwata (8-13) had walked the first two Dragons in the seventh inning at Koshien Stadium.

Matt Murton drove in both of Hanshin's runs with RBI singles in the fourth and sixth.

Masahiro Yamamoto started for Chunichi. The 47-year-old lefty allowed a run on three hits in five innings but got no decision.

BayStars 3, Carp 1

At Yokohama Stadium, the BayStars won for the first time since Sept. 7 as pinch hitter Tatsuya Shimozono overturned a 1-0 Hiroshima lead with a three-run triple, sending the Carp to their fifth straight loss.

Yokohama starter Yuki Kuniyoshi (4-11) worked seven innings to earn the victory.

The BayStars had gone 0-7 with three ties since their last win, when Kuniyoshi threw a three-hit shutout against the Carp in Hiroshima.

Carp ace Kenta Maeda came out of the game after throwing just 71 pitches in five shutout innings.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

Lions 4, Fighters 2

At Seibu Dome, Seibu's Hideto Asamura tied the game in the eighth inning with his second RBI of the game, and Hiroyuki Nakajima tripled in two more runs as the Lions came from behind to beat tough Hokkaido Nippon Ham lefty Mitsuo Yoshikawa (13-5) and trim the Fighters' lead in the Pacific League to 1 1/2 games.

Yoshikawa, the PL's pitcher of the month for August, suffered his first loss since July 7. Lions right-hander Ryoma Nogami allowed two runs in 7 2/3 innings, while reliever Randy Williams (4-3) collected the win after bailing Nogami out of trouble in the eighth.

Marines 3, Buffaloes 1

At Chiba's QVC Marine Field, Chiba Lotte ace Yoshihisa Naruse (12-10) allowed a run on three hits and two walks in seven innings to beat Orix and earn his first victory since Aug. 10.

The Marines scored twice in the first inning off Italy international Alesandro Maestri (3-3) on consecutive two-out RBI singles by Katsuya Kakunaka and Saburo Omura.

Hawks 1, Eagles 1 (10)

At Sendai's Kleenex Stadium, Tohoku Rakuten's Wataru Karashima scattered nine hits and a walk to allow just a run over seven innings as the Eagles survived a strong game by Fukuoka Softbank southpaw Kenji Otonari to escape with a 10-inning tie in their 3-hour, 45-minute game.

Otonari surrendered a leadoff homer in the first to Ryo Hijirisawa, but didn't give up another hit until one out in the seventh. The Hawks tied it in the second on an RBI single by Kenta Imamiya.

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Offense clicks in Giants' rout

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Eli Manning didn't need a fourth-quarter comeback Thursday night.

The two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback, running back Andre Brown and the rest of the New York Giants finished off the Carolina Panthers way before that.

Brown ran for a career-high 113 yards and two touchdowns in his first NFL start to help the Giants rout the Panthers 36-7.

Four days after rallying from 14 points down to beat Tampa Bay, New York dominated the first half, scoring on its first four possessions to build a 20-0 lead.

The defending champion Giants (2-1) were without three starters but it hardly mattered.

Brown — waived by five different teams — including the Panthers — since coming into the league as a fourth-round draft pick in 2009 — got his chance Thursday night when Ahmad Bradshaw sat out with a neck injury.

Brown said he thought about getting cut by the Panthers before the game — and it inspired him.

"I was walking into the stadium and I have to go by the spot where I parked my car," Brown said. "I felt a little fire, no doubt. I'm so happy to come out here. It really humbled me. It really shows that everything is not guaranteed. You know, I'm just going to ride this wave. Hopefully, it's a long wave."

Ramses Barden is hoping to ride that same wave.

Barden caught nine passes for a career-high 138 yards in his first NFL start.

Of course it helps that the guy throwing you the ball is named Manning. He completed 27 of 35 passes for 288 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

On the other side, second-year quarterback Cam Newton struggled all night and was pressured into three interceptions. The Panthers (1-2) had five turnovers.

"We got some licks on him (Newton), when he kept the ball, and that's something that was lacking last week," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "You have to be disciplined. You have to have people in the right spots, or he'll take full advantage of it."

Carolina coach Ron Rivera likened the loss to a lesson you learn from your big brother.

"They came in and slapped us around and dragged us to the ground a little bit," Rivera said. "Hopefully, we learn from it a little bit . . . and, hopefully, we don't like it and we come back focused."

Mixing run and pass, the Giants dominated the opening half, outgaining the Panthers 303-125.

Manning completed 19 of 25 passes for 208 yards in the first half, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to Martellus Bennett to cap the Giants' game-opening drive and set the tone. It capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive and marked the third straight game the Panthers have given up a touchdown on an opponent's first drive.

For Carolina, the first half was a nightmare.

"When you put yourself in a hole like that it's tough trying to claw and scratch yourself back up," Rivera said. "And that's really what happened. That's the type of game they want you to be in. That's trouble. When you get behind they can cut those guys loose on the pass rush."

Brown repeatedly bounced off tacklers and Barden had little trouble getting open against a Panthers defense that failed to pressure Manning.

Brown ran 13 times for 71 yards and a touchdown last week against Tampa Bay and surpassed that total by the end of the first quarter with 77 yards on seven.

Barden had 123 yards on seven catches at halftime.

Before Thursday night, the fourth-year receiver had never managed more than nine catches for 94 yards receiving in a season.

"At this level, you never know when you're going to get an opportunity, you've got to be prepared for it," Manning said. "Andre Brown is a great example. He's a guy we drafted, he bounced around, and we brought him back. He was on the bubble to make the team, and here you go. Ahmad (Bradshaw) gets hurt, and he ran great, he pass-protected.

"He did get off to a bit of a shaky start. He went left when he was supposed to run right on the first play. We had a little talk and got him settled down, and after that, he did very, very well."

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Pence continues run-producing tear to propel Giants past Diamondbacks

PHOENIX — Hunter Pence has the most RBIs on the San Francisco Giants since he was acquired in a deadline deal with Philadelphia.

Caught you: Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval prepares to apply the tag as the Diamondbacks' Adam Eaton is caught stealing in the first inning on Friday in Phoenix. The Giants won 6-2. AP

Now he's looking for a few more hits.

Pence belted his first grand slam in more than four years, Matt Cain dodged trouble for five-plus innings and the Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-2 on Friday night.

Pence has 34 RBIs and 37 hits with San Francisco. He is batting .233 with four homers in 41 games with the Giants.

"I need to get more hits is what that tells me," Pence said, "Make them pitch to (Buster) Posey with runners on."

Pence's third career grand slam capped a five-run third inning for the NL West-leading Giants, who won for the third time in four games and are 11-5 in their past 16.

Cain sparked the outburst with a leadoff walk and moved to second on Marco Scutaro's one-out infield single. After Pablo Sandoval singled to center to load the bases, Posey hit a grounder to third and Cain slid under Ryan Wheeler's throw on a close play to make it 1-0.

Pence followed with a long drive into the left-field stands for his 21st homer of the season.

"You can never walk the pitcher," Arizona starter Tyler Skaggs said. "I thought they were good pitches but I ended up walking him and then the whole inning kind of exploded."

Cain (14-5) walked three in the first and stranded five runners over the first two innings.

The right-hander allowed four hits, walked a season-high five and also hit a batter. He was charged with one run and struck out two.

"That was a gutsy effort," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "It just got to a point where I had to go get him."

Cain failed to make it through six innings for the second time in his last three starts.

Chris Johnson drove in both runs for the Diamondbacks, who stayed 4? games behind the Cardinals for the second wild-card spot.

Skaggs (1-2) allowed five runs and five hits in four innings after lasting only three innings in his previous start against San Diego on Sept. 7.

Arizona left 15 men on base against seven Giants pitchers.

Braves 2, Nationals 1

In Atlanta, Kris Medlen struck out a career-high 13 and the Braves pulled out a victory over Washington when Andrelton Simmons scored on a throwing error in the ninth inning.

Craig Kimbrel (2-1) earned the win by striking out the side in the top of the ninth on 10 pitches, though Medlen did most of the heavy lifting. He went seven innings, allowing only a homer to Bryce Harper.

Medlen eclipsed the previous best for strikeouts set 11 days earlier when he fanned 12 in a complete-game win over Colorado.

Atlanta also extended his franchise record by winning for the 20th straight time when Medlen is on the mound. That is the longest since the New York Yankees won 20 starts in a row by Roger Clemens in 2001.

Marlins 4, Reds 0

In Miami, Jacob Turner allowed only two hits in a career-high seven innings for his first National League victory, and the Marlins beat the NL Central-leading Cincinnati.

Turner (1-2) outpitched Bronson Arroyo (12-8), who gave up four runs in six innings.

Cubs 7, Pirates 4

In Chicago, Pittsburgh lost its seventh straight game and kept fading in NL wild-card race, falling to the Cubs as Starlin Castro hit a three-run homer.

Phillies 12, Astros 6

In Houston, Jimmy Rollins hit a leadoff homer, Domonic Brown had a two-run shot and John Mayberry and Ryan Howard each had three RBIs to help Philadelphia beat the Astros.

Cole Hamels (15-6) gave up four runs and seven hits over seven innings, and tied a career high for wins set in 2007.

Mets 7, Brewers 3

In Milwaukee, Lucas Duda homered and doubled, Jonathon Niese pitched six strong innings and New York snapped a six-game losing streak, beating the surging Brewers.

Milwaukee leadoff hitter Norichika Aoki was 1-for-5.

Dodgers 8, Cardinals 5

In Los Angeles, Luis Cruz greeted St. Louis reliever Edwin Mujica with a first-pitch, three-run homer in the sixth inning as the Dodgers beat the Cardinals.

Rockies 7, Padres 4

In San Diego, rookies Wilin Rosario and Jordan Pacheco had consecutive two-run doubles in the first inning to lead Colorado to a win over the Padres.

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Sakamoto ignites Giants in comeback victory over archrival Tigers

This close to the prize, the Yomiuri Giants aren't about to let anyone slow their march toward the Central League pennant.

An excited Sakamoto trots around the bases as his home run gives Yomiuri a 3-2 triumph over Hanshin.

Least of all their struggling rivals to the west.

Hayato Sakamoto hit a come-from-behind three-run home run in the seventh inning and the Giants moved one step closer to the CL title with a 3-2 victory over the Hanshin Tigers on Friday at Tokyo Dome.

"Sakamoto's home run was huge, coming with two outs at the most opportune time," said Yomiuri manager Tatsunori Hara.

The win coupled with the second-place Chunichi Dragons' loss to the Hiroshima Carp left the Giants with a magic number of six.

"The atmosphere on the team is one of anticipation of clinching the pennant soon," Sakamoto said.

Yomiuri outfielder Yoshitomo Tani led off the seventh with a double and Hisayoshi Chono later drew a one-out walk. Hanshin starter Minoru Iwata got a ground ball out of Daisuke Fujimura, but the Tigers couldn't turn the double play, leaving runners on first and third.

That's when Sakamoto struck, stroking a 134-km shuuto into the seats in left field.

"(Starter Toshiya) Sugiuchi was pitching so well, and I didn't want to see him lose, so I was thinking home run," Sakamoto said.

Sakamoto's heroics made a winner out of Sugiuchi, who allowed two runs on five hits and struck out three over seven innings to improve to 12-2. Tetsuya Yamaguchi worked a scoreless eighth and Kentaro Nishimura retired the side in order in the ninth for his 26th save of the season.

Iwata (8-12) allowed three runs on nine hits in 6 2/3 innings to lose for the first time in his last five starts.

"Iwata is a good pitcher who pitched a good game tonight," Hara said. "We really only had the one chance to win, and we made the most of it."

Hiroki Uemoto led off the game with a double and advanced to third on Yamato Maeda's sacrifice bunt. Takashi Toritani drew a one-out walk and stole second before Uemoto scored on Ryota Arai's RBI groundout to give the Tigers an early lead.

Matt Murton drove in Toritani with a double to left to make the score 2-0.

The Giants put runners on first and third with one out in the bottom half of the inning, and Shinnosuke Abe nearly put the Kyojin ahead with a deep drive to right that died just shy of the wall.

Abe singled with one out in the sixth and went to third on a Shuichi Murata double. Toritani fielded a ground ball by Kenji Yano and fired home to nail Abe at the plate for the second out of the inning and caught Michihiro Ogasawara's pop-up to end the threat.

The Tigers were in position to tack on an insurance run in the seventh, when Takahiro Arai led off with a double and went to third on a sacrifice bunt from Shunsuke Fujikawa.

The Tigers botched a squeeze play, however, with Abe catching a pop-up off Shinji Komiyama's bat and firing to third to end the inning.

Hirose lifts Carp

Hiroshima — The Hiroshima Carp snapped a three-game losing streak when Jun Hirose singled in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning in a 4-3 win over the Chunichi Dragons on Friday night in the Central League.

The Dragons had tied it 3-3 in the eighth.

Closer Kam Mickolio (3-4), the third Carp pitcher, worked a scoreless eighth to keep the game tied and recorded the win.

Swallows 6, BayStars 2

At Tokyo's Jingu Stadium, Tokyo Yakult's Kyohei Muranaka (9-6) allowed two runs in eight innings and broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the fourth when he drove in a run with his first career triple as the Swallows defeated Yokohama.

The BayStars came from behind and took a one-run lead on solo homers by Alex Ramirez and Norihiro Nakamura, but Ryosuke Morioka's two-out homer, his first in three years, a double by Yuhei Nakamura, Muranaka's triple and two more RBI singles broke the game open.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

Lions 3, Marines 3

At Chiba's QVC Marine Field, Seibu retained its grip on first place with a combination of power and superb defense in a victory over Chiba Lotte.

Jose Ortiz and Takeya Nakamura each homered to drive in all three of the visitors' runs, while the defense helped hold the Marines to two runs on 10 hits and four walks.

After an error helped Lotte mount a threat in the bottom of the first, center fielder Shogo Akiyama ended the inning with a double play. With one out and speedster Toshifumi Okada on third, Akiyama caught a fly in medium-deep center and threw a strike on the fly to catcher Ginjiro Sumitani for the third out.

Ortiz homered to make it 1-0 in the second off Yoshihisa Naruse (11-10), and the defense prevented the Marines from scoring in the third off starter Ryoma Nogami (8-4).

With one out, Okada tried to score on a line single to center, but a relay from Akiyama to shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima came home in time for Sumitani to block the plate and apply the tag. With two outs and runners on the corners, second baseman Hideto Asamura made a diving stop of a grounder to save another run and end the inning.

Nakamura belted his first homer of the month with Akiyama on in the sixth to make it 3-0, allowing Seibu to survive Katsuya Kakunaka's two-run single in the seventh and hold on for the victory.

Fighters 1, Hawks 0

At Sapporo Dome, Hokkaido Nippon Ham's Mitsuo Yoshikawa (13-4) allowed just two hits and a walk to win his sixth straight decision. The lefty struck out nine en route to his second shutout of the season.

Eiichi Koyano singled home the game's only run in the bottom of the eighth off Fukuoka Softbank's Kenji Otonari (12-6). The Hawks had just two runners reach second base, but their final base runner was picked off second base in the sixth inning.

Eagles 7, Buffaloes 2

At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, Tohoku Rakuten leapfrogged Lotte into fourth place as Ginji Akaminai broke a 2-2 tie in the fifth with a sacrifice fly and the Golden Eagles hung on to beat last-place Orix with the help of four hits and three RBIs from Kazuo Matsui.

Rakuten starter Wataru Karashima (7-5) allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings to collect the win as three relievers kept the Buffaloes off the scoreboard the rest of the way.

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Giants' Utsumi named interleague MVP

Southpaw Tetsuya Utsumi, who helped the Yomiuri Giants end the Pacific League's seven-year stranglehold on interleague championships, was named the interleague MVP on Thursday.

Utsumi, who went 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA in five starts against PL opponents, will receive ?2 million for the award.

Giants teammate Toshiya Sugiuchi and fellow lefty Mitsuo Yoshikawa of the Nippon Ham Fighters each won the Japan Life Insurance award, worth 1 million yen. Sugiuchi threw a no-hitter against Tohoku Rakuten on May 30 and posted a 4-1 interleague record with a 1.76 ERA, while Yoshikawa went 4-0 with a 1.42 ERA.

HIROSHIMA — The Hiroshima Carp announced the signing of 31-year-old first baseman Brad Eldred on Thursday. Eldred, a right-handed hitter, has played a total of 90 major league games since 2005.

The Carp are fourth in the Central League in home runs with 29, but Nick Stavinoha, who leads the team with nine, is out with a season-ending injury to his left knee that will require surgery. Regular cleanup hitter Kenta Kurihara, too, will likely be out until September after having elbow surgery on May 9.

The Carp are fifth in the Central League with a record of 24-31-6, three games back of fourth-place Hanshin. Eldred, who has 251 career minor league homers, has primarily been used as a designated hitter this season, although he has played first base and in the outfield.

The Detroit Tigers released the right-handed hitter, who had a brief stint with the American League club after a torrid spring for Triple-A Toledo. Eldred, who was 3-for-16 with Detroit with six strikeouts, hit 24 home runs in 63 games this season for Toledo.

Eldred, whose contract is for $230,000 plus incentives, will wear the No. 55 that belonged to former CL batting champ Shigenobu Shima before he was traded to the Seibu Lions in March.

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Gonzalez thrives after recent return to Giants

Edgar Gonzalez is back and he's hit the ground running.

Back to speed: Edgar Gonzalez is getting back into the groove after returning to the Yomiuri Giants from a period of inactivity in the United States. KYODO

After a long time spent off the diamond in the U.S., Gonzalez, who recently returned to play for the Yomiuri Giants, was essentially ushered off the plane and onto the field upon arriving back in Japan.

Not that he's complaining.

"It's going good," Gonzalez said last week. "I just got back a little while ago and got a couple of games under my belt. I hadn't played in 20-something days before I came here. I played one game in the minors and then I came up. So, it's taking some time, but I feel really good."

Gonzalez is hoping to use the experience he gained from his last stint in Japan to his advantage this time around.

"The adjustment is going to be a lot quicker than it was before," he said. "There's always an adjustment period when you go somewhere else, but it'll be a lot quicker just by knowing the league and being pretty comfortable with it."

Gonzalez has appeared in eight games for the Giants this year and is looking more comfortable with each at-bat.

He was hitless in his first four games (eight plate appearances), then finished with two hits in each of the next three, driving in three runs over that span. On Tuesday, he homered and finished with three RBIs in Yomiuri's 5-1 win over the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.

Gonzalez has a .304 average, one home run and six RBIs in the short period of time he's been back in the fold.

"I'm hoping to help offensively," Gonzalez said. "The team's already got really good pitching. I think with a little bit of offense, this team can go a long way and I hope I can help with that."

He also got to see a bit of history not long after his return, having been present for teammate Toshiya Sugiuchi's no-hitter against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on May 30.

It wasn't the first no-hitter Gonzalez had been a part of, but it had a decidedly nicer outcome than the last, when he was a member of the San Diego Padres squad that was no-hit by San Francisco Giants pitcher Jonathan Sanchez on July 10, 2009. Oddly enough, current Yomiuri infielder John Bowker was playing with San Francisco during that game.

"I came in to pinch hit in the eighth inning, and I hit a ball that was a home run, but (Aaron) Rowand caught it on top of the fence and brought it back," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez is no stranger to Japan or the Giants. He spent the 2010 season with the team, appearing in 100 games and hitting .263 with 12 home runs and 44 RBIs. He spent most of the next season with Triple-A Fresno (San Francisco Giants), hitting .315 with 14 home runs and 82 RBIs in 137 games.

From there he had a brief stint in the Chicago Cubs' organization, but played just nine games for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs before asking for and being granted his release in order to come back to Yomiuri.

"Everything is pretty much the same," Gonzalez said of being back. "Some of the foreigners are different. They're a really good group of guys, so I'm happy to be back and I'm happy to see that."

While familiar with many things in Japan, Gonzalez is aware the robust offensive environment he experienced in 2010 has changed with the introduction of NPB's new ball, which helped send offensive numbers plummeting in 2011.

The San Diego native says he's not worried about it having a major effect on his game.

"I'll just take it how it goes," he said. "Plus, I don't consider myself a home run hitter. I consider myself a singles hitter or a doubles hitter. As long as I keep on doing that, I'll be fine."

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Utsumi carries Giants to seventh consecutive win

A moment to treasure: A young fan receives an autographed baseball from Lions pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii on Friday at Seibu Dome. KYODO

Chiba — Tetsuya Utsumi allowed two runs in eight innings to pitch the Yomiuri Giants to their seventh straight interleague victory on Friday.

Utsumi (4-4) allowed five hits but no walks, while striking out five in a 4-2 victory over the Chiba Lotte Marines at QVC Marine Field.

The Giants are now 10-0 with three ties since their last loss on May 5. Yomiuri has won 10 straight decisions for the first time in three years.

"I worked very carefully from the start, and it went according to plan, with the guys scoring some early runs," said the southpaw.

The visitors took the lead in the second after Shuichi Murata led off with a double against submarine right-hander Shunsuke Watanabe (2-2). With two outs, Murata scored on a single by Yoshitomo Tani, who had two RBIs.

A leadoff single by John Bowker and RBI doubles by Hisayoshi Chono and Hayato Sakamoto made it 3-0 in the fifth.

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, the Marines' Masahiko Tanaka doubled home two runs to make it close.

Utsumi called the runs "a waste," but was pleased as punch to help keep the streak alive.

"There's an incredible atmosphere right now," he said. "We're playing great ball now, and we want to keep operating at this peak level for as long as we can."

Lions 10, Swallows 0

At Seibu Dome, Seibu's Kazuhisa Ishii (4-1) threw his first shutout in five years with a five-hitter against his former club, snapping the Lions' four-game losing streak.

Tokyo Yakult, which has now lost six games in a row for the first time in two seasons, never got a runner as far as second base against its former ace, while Seibu racked up season highs in runs and hits (14).

Tigers 5, Hawks 0

At Fukuoka's Yahoo Dome, Jason Standridge (4-3) allowed three hits and a walk over seven innings against his first club in Japan and two Hanshin relievers completed the three-hit shutout of Japan Series champion Fukuoka Softbank.

Matt Murton had three hits for the Tigers, who won their second straight. His RBI single opened the scoring in the fourth and his first homer of the season made it 2-0 in the seventh.

Buffaloes 4, Carp 3 (10)

Dragons 5, Fighters 5 (10)

BayStars at Eagles — ppd.

Kokubo deactivated

Fukuoka — Hiroki Kokubo's pursuit of his 2,000th-career hit was put on hold on Friday, when the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks deactivated their 40-year-old captain with a herniated disc.

Kokubo, who needs just one hit to reach the milestone, suffered back pain against the Hiroshima Carp on Wednesday, when he was 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts.

"I anguished over the decision, but even if I play, the fact is that I probably won't be able to produce," said Kokubo, who underwent an MRI earlier in the day. "I've never had a herniated disc before, so I don't understand it. Even speaking is painful."

Kokubo had two hits on Tuesday, and with his goal in sight, the Hawks drew a home crowd of 36,658, their best-attended midweek game this season.

"Although I am only one hit away, being fit on the field is part of a professional's duty," he said.

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Sugiuchi helps Giants tame Lions

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. — The interleague-leading Yomiuri Giants improved to 6-0 against the Pacific League this season, when former PL strikeout king Toshiya Sugiuchi pitched eight-plus innings in a 2-0 victory over the Seibu Lions at Seibu Dome on Wednesday.

Birds of a feather: Marines captain Toshiaki Imae (left) and pitcher Seth Greisinger celebrate after Lotte's 5-1 win over Yakult on Wednesday. KYODO

Yomiuri is 9-0 with three ties since its last loss on May 5.

Sugiuchi, who led the PL in strikeouts in 2007 and 2008 before moving to the Central League this season as a free agent, outdueled Lions right-hander Takayuki Kishi, who fell to 4-4 despite a solid eight innings.

Two-time CL home run leader Shuichi Murata hit his third homer since joining the Giants over the winter, a leadoff shot in the second that gave Sugiuchi the only run he'd need.

The Giants, who had just three hits and no walks, added a run in the eighth on a safety squeeze by former Lion Yoshihito Ishii.

Sugiuchi (6-1) allowed four hits and issued four walks, while striking out eight. The lefty left after walking the first two batters he faced in the ninth.

Tetsuya Yamaguchi came on and walked the bases loaded before striking out a batter and inducing a game-ending double play.

The Giants moved to within one game of the CL-leading Chunichi Dragons, who lost in Sendai.

Hawks 6, Carp 3

At Fukuoka's Yahoo Dome, Hiroki Kokubo's bid for his 2,000th career hit will have to wait after he went 0-for-3 in Softbank's win over Hiroshima.

Seichi Uchikawa opened the scoring in the first with an RBI single and Nagisa Arakaki (4-1) allowed three runs in 6? innings.

Marines 5, Swallows 1

At Chiba's QVC Marine Field, Seth Greisinger (5-1) allowed four hits without issuing a walk in seven scoreless innings as PL-leading Lotte handed Yakult its fourth straight loss.

Toshiaki Imae broke the ice for the hosts with an RBI single in the fifth. Katsuya Kakunaka's two-run triple made it 3-0 in the sixth and Shunichi Nemoto tripled in another run in the seventh.

Fighters 3, BayStars 1

At Sapporo Dome, PL ERA leader Mitsuo Yoshikawa (4-1) allowed a run in five-plus innings despite giving up seven hits and two walks as Hokkaido Nippon Ham downed Yokohama. Yoshikawa has a 1.13 ERA.

Kensuke Tanaka opened the scoring with a first-inning RBI triple and scored himself on an infield single by Atsunori Inaba. Daikan Yoh's sacrifice fly plated Inaba in the fourth.

Eagles 4, Dragons 0

At Sendai's Kleenex Stadium, Shintaro Masuda belted his first career home run, a two-run shot, and four Rakuten pitchers combined on an eight-hit shutout as the Eagles beat Chunichi for their third straight win.

Wataru Karashima (2-1) kept the ball down and held the Dragons to five hits and a walk over six innings. Chunichi lefty Kenichi Nakata (3-3) allowed three runs in seven innings.

Tigers 8, Orix 2

At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, lefty Minoru Iwata (3-5) gave up two runs in 5? innings and Hanshin had 11 hits in taking the second game of this year's Kansai derby over Orix.

The Buffaloes, who had won three straight since losing star center fielder Tomotaka Sakaguchi to injury on May 17, deactivated slugging outfielder Takahiro Okada before the game due to a hamstring injury that has plagued him since April.

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Giants defeat Buffaloes

Hayato Sakamoto and the Yomiuri Giants might be finally hitting their stride. Which might be bad news for the Pacific League.

Locked in: Giants left-hander Toshiya Sugiuchi struck out eight batters in six innings on Thursday at Tokyo Dome. Yomiuri defeated the Orix Buffaloes 4-2. KYODO

Sakamoto hit a game-tying homer in the sixth inning, Ryuchi Kajimae drove in the go-ahead run during the same frame, and Toshiya Sugiuchi won his first interleague start against the PL as the Giants edged the Orix Buffaloes 4-2 in front of a crowd of 45,997 on Thursday at Tokyo Dome.

"Sugiuchi-san was pitching well and we wanted to make sure he would not be the loser tonight," Sakamoto said.

Sakamoto's game-tying shot to left to lead off the sixth was his third home run of the season and first at Tokyo Dome this year.

"It always feels good to hit a home run in front of the home crowd," Sakamoto said. "I'm sorry it took so long to hit the first one here this season."

Yomiuri managed to load the bases later in the inning and Kajimae hit a sacrifice fly to center that was deep enough to bring the tiebreaking run home from third.

"I went up just thinking to put us ahead, knowing I did not need to get a hit," Kajimae said.

The Giants won for the third consecutive game and extended their current unbeaten streak to eight.

Sugiuchi came away a winner in his first interleague start for a Central League team, after spending 10 years in the PL.

The former PL MVP, who helped the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks win interleague titles in 2008, '09 and '11, allowed a pair of runs and struck out eight over six innings. He improved to a team-best 5-1 and won his fourth straight decision.

"His change-up was good, and he was throwing his fastball really well," said Orix third baseman Aarom Baldiris. "He's a good pitcher."

Tetsuya Yamaguchi worked two innings of scoreless relief and Kentaro Nishimura retired the side in the ninth for his eighth save.

"Our team really has a good bullpen now with Yamaguchi, (Scott) Mathieson, and Nishimura, and I feel confident I can count on any of them to close out games and secure a victory," said Yomiuri manager Tatsunori Hara.

The slumping Buffaloes dropped their fifth straight game. Adding insult to injury, center fielder Tomotaka Sakaguchi was hurt making a diving catch during the first inning. Sakaguchi was taken off the field on a stretcher and did not return.

Shinya Nakayama got the start for Orix and left with a decision for the first time in three outings. Unfortunately it turned out to be his first loss since April 7. Nakayama (1-2) allowed three runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.

The Buffaloes got on the board in the opening frame after Hisayoshi Chono misplayed Lee Dae Ho's fly ball to center, resulting in an RBI triple.

Chono doubled to lead off the bottom half of the first and moved to third on a bunt by Takayuki Terauchi. Sakamoto then hit a fly ball to shallow center, but Sakaguchi was injured making the catch, giving Chono just enough time to tag up and score the tying run.

Baldiris put the Buffaloes ahead with an RBI double in the top of the sixth, but the Giants battled back in the bottom half on Sakamoto's homer and Kajimae's sacrifice fly.

Yomiuri tacked on an insurance run in the eighth on Yoshiyuki Kamei's RBI groundout.

Lions blank BayStars

Yokohama KYODO

Takayuki Kishi tossed his first shutout in two years as the Seibu Lions beat the Yokohama BayStars 3-0 Thursday to win their fourth straight.

Kishi limited the BayStars to four hits and struck out nine while walking two in a 109-pitch outing en route to his fourth win of the season. A throwing error by Yokohama catcher Toshiki Kurobane let in the first run. Esteban German's run-scoring single followed an RBI triple from Shogo Akiyama to complete the scoring.

Marines 3, Dragons 3 (10)

At Nagoya Dome, Chiba Lotte's Saburo Omura drove in three runs and twice evened the game as the Marines came from behind to tie Chunichi.

Omura's two-run homer tied it 2-2 in the fourth. After Kazuhiro Wada gave the Dragons a one-run lead in the fifth, Omura delivered a ninth-inning sacrifice fly off lefty closer Hitoki Iwase.

Hawks 9, Swallows 1

At Tokyo's Jingu Stadium, slugging third baseman Nobuhiro Matsuda celebrated his 29th birthday with a three-run home run as Fukuoka Softbank, interleague champion in three of the past four seasons, got off the mark with a win over Yakult.

Hitoshi Tamura and Wily Mo Pena also homered for the Hawks, who dropped their interleague opener the night before. The Swallows' Lastings Milledge homered for the second straight game.

Fighters 4, Tigers 1

At Koshien Stadium, Brian Wolfe (3-3) worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and four walks and Terrmel Sledge delivered a two-run, sixth-inning triple as Hokkaido Nippon Ham swept Hanshin.

The Fighters broke the game open in the sixth after Craig Brazell's throwing error let in a run and allowed Sledge to bat with two outs.

Carp 4, Eagles 1

At Hiroshima's Mazda Stadium, Hiroshima's offense came untracked with some help from Tohoku Rakuten starter Kelvin Jimenez (2-4), who walked five batters and was ejected in the second for hitting Shota Dobayashi in the head.

Carp starter Yuki Saito (1-1), on the other hand, allowed a run in 5 2/3 innings to get the win.

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Giants edge Carp on Kamei's homer

Between being hit in the face with a pitch and struggling at the plate early this year, it's safe to say Yoshiyuki Kamei's season hasn't been going well.

Big hit: The Giants' Yoshinobu Takahashi smacks a two-run home run in the third inning against the Carp on Thursday at Tokyo Dome. Yomiuri defeated Hiroshima 4-3. KYODO

He wasn't having the best of days on Thursday either, but one swing of the bat took care of that.

Kamei's tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning ended up being the difference for the Yomiuri Giants in a 4-3 win over the Hiroshima Carp at Tokyo Dome.

"I haven't been playing well and missed on the sacrifice bunt attempt earlier (in the sixth)," Kamei said. "So I wanted to do something to make up for that. I feel a lot better now."

Kamei stepped to the plate in the eighth with two outs and the score knotted at 3-3. With the count in his favor, Kamei connected on a fastball, putting the Giants ahead with his first home run of the season.

"With two outs and none on, I was looking for something I could drive," Kamei said. "I was lucky to get a good pitch over the plate."

Kamei had a 2-for-3 day at the dish. Yoshinobu Takahashi also homered for the Giants and shortstop Hayato Sakamoto was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Scott Mathieson (1-0) struck out four in two innings of relief to earn the win, while Kentaro Nishimura recorded his sixth save.

Hiroshima's Kam Mickolio (1-2) was charged with the loss.

Giants pitcher Shoki Kasahara finished outside of the decision in his first career start. He threw four innings and allowed three runs on six hits. Kasahara struck out three and walked two.

Sakamoto drove in the game's first run, lining an RBI single over the glove of leaping second baseman Akihiro Higashide, before Takahashi's two-run shot put Yomiuri ahead 3-0 in the third.

NAGOYA — Left-hander Yudai Kawai pitched seven scoreless innings and Tony Blanco homered as the Chunichi Dragons beat the Hanshin Tigers 3-0 on Thursday to keep their unbeaten streak alive at six games, including a tie.

Kawai (1-0) scattered five hits, struck out four and walked none at Nagoya Dome.

Blanco led off the second with a drive to center off Yuya Ando (2-1). Naomichi Donoue added a two-run double the same frame.

BayStars 3, Swallows 1

At Yokohama Stadium, Norihiro Nakamura drove in two runs in support of Opening Day starter Kentaro Takasaki, who limited the damage to one run in seven innings against Tokyo Yakult to help Yokohama end a six-game losing streak.

Left-hander Kyohei Muranaka (3-1) took the loss after allowing two runs and seven hits in six innings of work.

The Swallows' Shinya Miyamoto went 0-for-3 with a bases-loaded walk to remain one shy from his 2,000th career hit.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

Marines 6, Buffaloes 1

At Osaka's Kyocera Dome, Shunsuke Watanabe (1-1) threw one-run ball, despite allowing seven hits over eight innings as Chiba Lotte beat Orix.

Saburo Omura had a two-run single to highlight a four-run fifth. Tadahito Iguchi hit an RBI single among his three hits.

Evan MacLane (2-2) took the loss for the Buffaloes.

Hawks 2, Fighters 0

At Sapporo Dome, Wily Mo Pena homered twice, and Nagisa Arakaki (3-1) tossed eight scoreless innings of three-hit ball as Fukuoka Softbank swept Hokkaido Nippon Ham in three games.

Pena hit a solo drive in the second against Brian Wolfe (2-2) and went deep again in the eighth.

Lions 6, Eagles 1

At Seibu Dome, Shogo Akiyama went 4-for-4 with three RBIs, Hirotaka Koishi tossed seven scoreless innings en route to his first career win, and Seibu ended a three-game skid with a rout of Tohoku Rakuten.

Akiyama had a run-scoring single in the third and a two-run triple in the fifth.

Manabu Mima (0-1) was roughed up for six runs and 10 hits in six innings of the loss.

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Utsumi leads Giants in shutout of Tigers

Tetsuya Utsumi had a memorable 30th birthday by pitching seven scoreless innings to lead the Yomiuri Giants to a 2-0 win over the Hanshin Tigers on Sunday.

Many happy returns: Yomiuri's Tetsuya Utsumi pitches during the Giants' 2-0 win over the Tigers on Sunday. KYODO

Utsumi (2-3) combined with two relievers on an eight-hit shutout at Tokyo Dome as the once-struggling Giants won their third straight game. The left-hander scattered seven hits while walking one and striking out three in a 99-pitch outing.

Hanshin put runners in scoring position four times against Utsumi, with the biggest threat a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the sixth.

But Utsumi got former Seattle Mariner Kenji Johjima to hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat.

"I'm glad I got a win on my birthday," Utsumi said. "In the sixth inning, I tried to ease my mind by telling myself I could allow a sacrifice fly and one run would be inevitable.

"When I'm off, I leave my fastball in the middle of the zone in a situation like that. But today was different.

"I've started to throw a two-seam fastball only recently. Before the game, (catcher Shinnosuke) Abe-san told me we were going to use it a lot today. It worked very well."

Backup outfielder Ryuichi Kajimae opened the scoring in the second when he drove in captain Abe from second with a two-out single up the middle off Minoru Iwata (1-4).

"I wanted to get a hit for Utsumi-san in that situation," Kajimae said. "I was determined to go aggressive and swung at the first pitch. The manager put me in the starting lineup yesterday, but I didn't do well.

"Today I was finally able to contribute to the team's win."

Shuichi Murata hit a sacrifice fly to give Yomiuri a much-needed insurance run in the eighth off Daiki Enokida.

Kentaro Nishimura pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save after Tetsuya Yamaguchi worked the eighth.

Johjima, back in Hanshin's starting lineup for the first time in five games, went hitless in four at-bats, striking out once and hitting into two double plays. Hanshin outhit Yomiuri 8-7.

Carp 3, Swallows 0

Show of strength: Nick Stavinoha (right) and Yusuke Nomura celebrate the Carp's victory over the Swallows on Sunday. KYODO

At Mazda Stadium, rookie Yusuke Nomura (2-1) allowed just one hit over eight innings and Nick Stavinoha hit a two-run homer in the sixth as Hiroshima beat Tokyo Yakult to snap a three-game losing streak.

Jun Hirose delivered an RBI single in the first innng among his three hits. Orlando Roman gave up three runs in six innings for Yakult, whose unbeaten streak ended at seven games.

Dragons 3, BayStars 0

At Nagoya Dome, Shinji Iwata (2-0) struck out 12 and allowed just two hits in seven innings as Chunichi handed Yokohama its fourth consecutive loss.

Hirokazu Ibata and Naomichi Donoue hit RBI singles in the fifth off Yuki Kuniyoshi (0-3) to push Chunichi's lead to 3-0. Hitoki Iwase picked up his 10th save.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

Fighters 4, Eagles 0

At Kleenex Stadium, Terrmel Sledge homered and drove in three runs, Masaru Takeda pitched his second shutout of the season and PL leader Hokkaido Nippon Ham beat Tohoku Rakuten.

Sledge gave Nippon Ham a 1-0 lead in the fourth with a two-out RBI double and added a two-run shot in the sixth off Kenji Tomura (2-1). Takeda (4-0) allowed just two hits and two walks in a 96-pitch outing.

Atsunori Inaba, who recorded his 2,000th career hit on Saturday, went 2-for-4 for Nippon Ham.

Marines 2, Hawks 1

At QVC Marine Field, Yuki Karakawa (4-1) threw his second complete game of the season as Chiba Lotte edged Fukuoka Softbank to snap a three-game losing streak.

Saburo Omura hit a sac fly in the first and Katsuya Kakunaka added a solo homer in the fourth off Sho Iwasaki (2-3). Softbank moved within a run in the ninth, but Katsuki Yamazaki grounded out for the final out with two men on base.

Lions 3, Buffaloes 1

At Kyocera Dome, Shogo Akiyama went 3-for-3 with an RBI, leading Seibu over Orix for its fourth straight victory.

Seibu right-hander Ryoma Nogami (1-1) gave up nine hits but limited the damage to one run in 5? innings for the win. Hiroshi Kisanuki (2-2) took the loss.

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Giants edge Pats in Super Bowl XLVI

INDIANAPOLIS — Elite and Eli. One and the same.

New York Giants Deon Grant, Jacquian Williams and Kenny Phillips prevent New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez from making the game-winning catch on the final play of Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday. The Giants won 21-17. AP

And now there are two Super Bowl championships and two MVPs to prove it.

Eli Manning is the big man in the NFL after one-upping Tom Brady and leading the New York Giants to a 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots in Sunday's Super Bowl — in older brother Peyton's house, at that.

"This isn't about one person," Manning insisted. "This is about a team coming together."

A team led by a quarterback who months ago claimed — to snickers throughout the league — that he belonged in the same stratosphere as Brady, and then proved it.

Just as Manning did four years ago when the Giants ruined New England's perfect season, he guided them 88 yards to the decisive touchdown, which the Patriots didn't contest as Ahmad Bradshaw ran 6 yards with 57 seconds left.

"Certainly Eli has had a great season. He made some great throws in the fourth quarter, and they deserved to win," Brady said.

They got some help from Patriots coach Bill Belichick, whose late-game risk didn't turn out as he planned. Belichick reasoned the Giants would run the clock down and kick a short field goal, so he gambled by allowing the six points.

"Ball was inside the 10-yard line, a 90 percent field goal conversion," he said. "Sure, could have done a better job in a lot of things."

Manning did everything asked of him in the final minutes, a habit for the eight-year veteran. He's beaten the Patriots in two thrilling Super Bowls. The Giants (13-7), who stood 7-7 in mid-December, now own the football world, and Manning owns two Super Bowl MVP awards, the same number as Brady.

It was a classic I-can-top-that showdown with the outcome in doubt until the last desperation pass fell to the turf as the last second ticked off the clock. Manning started the game with nine straight completions, a Super Bowl record; Brady hit 16 straight over the second and third quarters, breaking Joe Montana's Super bowl record of 13.

Manning finished 30 for 40 for 296 yards and one touchdown, while Brady was 27 for 41 for 276 yards with two TDs and one interception.

Manning led six comeback victories during the season and set an NFL record with 15 fourth-quarter touchdown passes. He showed that brilliance in the clutch on the winning drive, completing five passes, starting with a sensational 38-yard sideline catch by Mario Manningham.

On second down at the Patriots 6 and with only one timeout remaining, Belichick had his defense stand up as Bradshaw took the handoff. Bradshaw thought about stopping short of the end zone, then tumbled in untouched.

"I was yelling to him, 'Don't score, don't score,' " Manning said. "He tried to stop, but he fell into the end zone."

Brady couldn't answer in the final 57 seconds, although his heave into the end zone on the final play fell just beyond the grasp of lunging All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski. New England (15-4), winner of 10 straight since a loss to the Giants in November, was done.

"Certainly it wasn't one play that was the reason we lost," Brady said. "Everybody feels they could do a little more. I'd rather come to this game and lose than not get here."

All around him was the wild celebration by the Giants, NFL champions for the eighth time.

Weight of the world: Giants defensive end Justin Tuck sacks Patriots quarterback Tom Brady during Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday in Indianapolis. New York won 21-17. AP

"Great toughness, great faith and great plays by a number of guys today," Manning said, deflecting some of the attention. Still, he beat Brady. And he went one better than Peyton, the Indianapolis Colts quarterback who has one ring of his own but didn't play this season as he recovered from neck surgery.

"It just feels good to win a Super Bowl. It doesn't matter where you are," Manning said.

The Giants are the first Super Bowl winner that was outscored during the regular season. They were 6-2 after that 24-20 victory at New England, then lost four straight and five of six.

Coach Tom Coughlin insisted "the prize" was still within reach. Now the Giants are holding tight to that Vince Lombardi Trophy.

"What I was concerned with was these guys making their own history," Coughlin said. "This is such a wonderful thing, these guys carving their own history."

Coughlin got his own piece of the record book as the oldest coach, at 65, to win a Super Bowl.

It was the Giants' fourth Super Bowl victory, and they became the first team to finish the regular season 9-7 and win the title.

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Giants may live to regret letting prolific slugger Ramirez leave

The Yomiuri Giants hit fewer singles, doubles, triples and home runs in 2011 than they did in 2010. The Kyojin also drove in fewer runs and struck out more.

Being that the Giants are the Giants, it was hardly surprising they would, fairly or unfairly, find someone to shoulder all the blame, and amiable slugger Alex Ramirez was the fall guy.

Ramirez had his worst season in Japan, but he wasn't the sole reason for the Giants' struggles. But with a contract due to expire, he was an easy target.

Changes after such a down season are understandable, but it's possible the Giants jettisoned the wrong player.

With Ramirez left unsigned, the Kyojin essentially swapped him for a younger, less productive version of himself during free agency, signing former Yokohama BayStars slugger Shuichi Murata, as Ramirez headed to the BayStars.

Defensively, the move was fairly savvy.

Murata isn't the best fielder in the world, but he's durable and should hold down third base, which allows Michihiro Ogasawara to focus on first base and solidifies the NPB's most fluid corner infield situation. There may also be gains made in the outfield, depending on who replaces Ramirez in left field.

But is the slight bump in run prevention Murata offers more valuable than what Ramirez could produce with his bat?

Both sluggers had down years in 2011, though Ramirez was slightly better, hitting .279, with an on-base percentage of .322, slugging percentage of .453, 23 home runs and 73 RBIs. Murata put up a 253/.321/.423 line, going deep 20 times and driving in 70 runs. Ramirez also posted a superior 5.13 runs created per 27 outs to Murata's 4.39.

Ramirez's higher rate of production holds up over a larger sample size. Over the past five seasons, Ramirez (in 56 more games) has more extra-base hits (384 to 286), more homers (177 to 153) and more RBIs (552 to 442). He also holds a .404 to .375 edge in weighted batting average, which takes all the aspects of hitting and weighs them in proportion to their actual run value.

Murata's last big year was in 2008, when he posted a .323/.397/.665 line, with 46 homers and 114 RBIs. But career numbers of .274/.325/.545 suggest that was somewhat of a positive aberration.

Star is born: A big season by Alex Ramirez in his first season with the BayStars might leave Giants fans scratching their heads. KYODO

Both players suffered with the introduction of the NPB's new ball in 2011, which dulled offensive production around Japan.

But Murata hit just .257 with 26 homers and 88 RBIs in 144 games in 2010, and wasn't much better last season. Considering the drop Ramirez took from 2010 (.304, 49 homers, 129 RBIs) to 2011, he may far outpace Murata by just approaching his usual rate of production, especially with a year adjusting to the new ball already under his belt.

Murata is a fine player, but with the upgrades the Giants made on the mound, coupled with the NPB's new offensive environment, one could argue Yomiuri would be in a better position with Ramirez — unless of course Murata has another big year.

With Shinnosuke Abe and Hisayoshi Chono in the lineup, the Giants should be strong whether Murata produces or not.

But if the Kyojin fall short of the pennant again, they may regret it if the missing piece has a resurgent year in Yokohama.

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